Crystalline Glass
by WitchOfDarkness13
Summary: Hogwarts. Never before has it seen a group of kids like it has right now. Marauders era. OC central, with lots of Sirius in it.
1. Chapter 1

~*~ Annalisa Grimwood, Ann for short, is pretty much on the road to hell. Or that's what her parents and older sister, Tessa, like to say. The fact is that Ann is just too different from her family's pureblood maniac ideals. The only person in her family who Ann likes is her little brother Rowan. Instinctively different from her relatives, she fights to live in a world that wants to smother her. ~*~

_Darkness, the smell of curses and magic, and the sound of a person breathing raggedly fill the room. Just enough light shines in through the window to show a young girl lying on a mat with a sword in front of her and sweat pouring down her face._

_"Get up Annalisa! Get up! If this is how you're going to act in a little training then you are weak! Get up and start the exercise again!" a man shouts._

_The small girl trembles a little from exhaustion as she picks up the blade and takes a fighter's stance. The man starts to throw curses, hexes and jinxes at the girl and she blocks them with the blade. After a while she ducks under a dark red spell and aims a slice at the man's legs. He blocks it with a spell and kicks the girl away._

_She hisses with the slight pain and pauses before getting up. Taking the familiar stance once again she hopes that she can soon go to sleep and actually get some rest._

I'm sitting in my bedroom, which is incidentally one of the basements in my family's home, when I hear something that sounds like Regius, the family owl, giving a hoot of warning. He only does that for owls that don't belong to the family, which means that we're getting outside mail today. I ponder this for a moment before there's a small bang from the kitchens above me.

"Annalisa Artemis Grimwood!"

Wincing at my mother's screech I quickly ascend the stairs and enter the kitchen. As usual the place is a mixture of candle light and shadows that are perfect to hide in. I turn to the woman standing at the table and give a slight bow.

"Yes, mother? You called?" I try very hard not to say 'You dragged your nails on the chalk board?'

Mother's eyes narrow, "Watch your tone Annalisa. Mail has just arrived and you received a letter."

She holds out the envelope that has my name on it. I'm so surprised that I've got mail for once that I reach out without thinking. Mother slaps my hand and glares at me.

"What have I told you about grabbing things?"

"My apologies mother. May I please have the letter?" I ask.

She hands it to me and turns to my sister. It's a clear dismissal, but I thank her and bow anyway when I note that her wand is lying on the table next to her. I return to my room and open up the envelope after noting that it had my bedroom listed as the topmost basement. Inside is my Hogwarts acceptance letter. I smile as I read it and look at my calendar. It is July first, so I have two months until I leave this place.

"Annalisa! We are leaving for Diagon ally! Get a cloak and come to the fireplace!" Tessa yells.

I scowl as I remember that this will be Tessa's sixth year at Hogwarts and that I'm not completely rid of my horrible family members yet. Grabbing my cloak, I head up to the fireplace in the sitting room. When I arrive, my cloak is fastened and I have a mask of indifference on. Keeping your emotions closely guarded is something that is practically beaten into a pureblood child's head from the time they are born.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by a hand grabbing onto mine. Looking to my right, I see Rowan holding on tightly. I give his hand a small squeeze and step into the fireplace with him at my side. I wrap my arm around him as the green flames lick our cloaks.

"Diagon Ally!" I call out. A moment later we're spinning through the inter-fireplace travel system, and I watch as each grate flashes by before I see the right one approaching. Squeezing Rowan's shoulder beforehand, I take a step forward as the grate is in front of us.

Rowan stumbles a little as we exit, but I stop him from falling. I exit the fireplace gracefully and give a glance around the room. There are thirteen people in here who are regular witches and wizards, three Aurors on break, a vampire, and another pureblood family exiting a fireplace across the room.

"Come on Rowan, Tessa should be here soon so we should get out of the way," I tell my little brother. We move out from in front of the fireplace and are in position right as the flames light up again. I look around the room again, the habits from living in a house where you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times kicking in.

Tessa exits the fireplace with one of the most minute of stumbles, that if you didn't know her you wouldn't have noticed it. She doesn't let it show that she almost tripped and just brushes past Rowan and me to stand in the shadows. After about a minute our mother appears out of the fireplace. Father, who had been talking with someone by another fireplace, comes to our group and we leave for the small court yard. Mother and Tessa sneer in disgust at the appearance of the small courtyard, but the opening of the archway stops any comments.

Rowan gasps at the sight and smiles. It's his first time in Diagon Ally and he is looking all around taking in as many sights as possible. I'm the only one to hear the little gasps and 'oohs' and 'ahhs' that come from him.

I bend down slightly, "If you think that this is cool then wait until we actually enter the shops."

Rowan looks up at me excitedly and grins. He also doesn't pay attention to where he is going and I steer him out of the way of a couple of distracted wizards.

"Careful Rowan." I check my change purse and smile, "How about we go to the Menagerie? Maybe you can help me find an owl that we can use to send letters back and forth when I go to Hogwarts."

"Can we?" he asks practically bouncing up and down.

"Hold on, let me ask mother and father," I chuckle. I quickly place that mask back on and step up to our group.

"I will go and get money from our vaults. I have a bag for each of you and will give it to you when I come back," father announces and leaves for Gringotts.

Once he's gone I turn to mother, "Mother, may I take Rowan to the Menagerie so that he may buy an owl to keep contact with Tessa during the school year? He has been using the family owls, but it would be advantageous to get him one of his own."

I know that asking to buy an owl for myself would get me a glare in public and a really hard practice at home. Also adding in the bit of him keeping contact with Tessa will probably help with the situation.

"Do you have money?" she asks.

I hold up my bag, "There's enough in here to buy the owl and required supplies."

She blinks and turns to Rowan, "Go pick out a nice owl Rowan, alright?"

"Yes mu-mother," Rowan stutters. He is still trying to get used to calling her mother rather than mum in public.

"We will be at Florish and Blotts in half an hour," I inform mother and then lead Rowan to the shop. As soon as I scan the shop and find no threats I feel myself relax slightly. Turning to my little brother I smile at him.

"Welcome to the Magical Menagerie," I say.

Rowan looks around the shop with wide eyes and we head over to the owls. He watches all the owls until he finally sees one that he deems as perfect. It's a black brown Barn owl with large eyes.

I pick up the cage and look at the price tag. Doing some quick math, I figure that I'll have just enough for the owl, supplies and an extra treat.

"Alright one owl. Rowan can you grab a bag of treats?" I ask.

Rowan picks up a bag and we take the owl and bag up to the counter. The witch at the counter smiles at as and her smile widens even more when she sees the owl.

"So she's finally getting a home. Good thing too, she would nip at anyone who tried to take her. It was almost like she was waiting for you two," the witch smiles.

We exit the shop and I look at the time. We have twenty minutes left so I direct him to the ice cream shop and buy him a cone. Rowan looks at me with his eyes wide and I just wink. Taking that as the go ahead he licks the ice cream contentedly.

Smiling at my brother's happiness, I glance around the ally again and see that father is coming out of the bank and heading this way. I frown and see a small ally between a couple of shops. I know it's not an entrance to Knockturn Ally and I usher Rowan into the small area. I watch as our father walks past and turn back to Rowan. Who is not there.

"Rowan?" I ask and glance around seeing if he was hiding, "Rowan!"

I take off down the ally listening for my brother and glancing around trying to see him. I silently chastise myself for not keeping a closer eye on him and as I turn a corner I see Rowan talking with another boy about his age. I almost sigh with relief, but instead run over to him.

"Rowan!"

Rowan turns around and I stop in front of him and drop to one knee and look him over making sure that my brother is alright. Out of the corner of my eye I notice that the other boy is going through roughly the same thing, but with an older brother rather than an older sister.

"Rowan I swear if you ever do that to me again, you will not like what happens. Oh, don't ever do that to me again! I thought you had gotten lost," I tell him as I stand up and pick him up.

"Ann, I'm sorry, but can you put me down? I'm too old to be carried," Rowan complains.

I shake my head, "No way. I'm going to hold onto you until I know that I won't lose you again."

"Sorry Ann," Rowan mutters.

"Just don't do that to me ok?" I turn to the other two, "Is your brother alright?"

The older boy, who looks to be my age, blinks before nodding, "Yeah, he's fine."

I nod and then turn around and walk back the way we came. When I reach the end of the ally I look Rowan in the eye.

"If I put you down will you promise to hold my hand and not leave my sight?"

"Yes."

I set Rowan down and immediately grab his hand. Holding on tight, we return to the table we had been seated at, grab the owl and treats and rush to the book shop. I glance around and notice that mother and father are over by the Dark Arts section, of course, and that there is a huge crowd in the way.

I sigh and then dive into the crowd weaving my way around the witches and wizards and Rowan and I reach our parents with three minutes to spare.

"Father, mother Rowan and I are back from the Menagerie. Rowan has bought a Barn owl for his letter to Tessa," I tell them, slightly breathless, but still not showing the relief that we had made it on time.

Father nods, "Very well. We only have to go to Ollivander's to get your wand and then we shall leave."

Tiredly I nod. I am too used to being rushed about to even try and complain anymore. I once again lead Rowan through the crowd of witches and wizards and out into the ally.

"Ann?" Rowan asks.

I look back and notice that we have time before our parents and Tessa arrive.

"Yeah?"

"Do I _have_ to use your owl to send letters to Tessa?" Rowan asks.

"If you don't want to, I won't tell," I inform him. I smile at my brother's grin, holding back a snicker. Shaking my head, I follow our parents down the street and into the wand maker's shop.

A bell rang somewhere in the shop as I enter with Rowan and my mother. An older man steps out from the back and looks at my mother.

"Lady Grimwood wand 12 ¾ inches oak with dragon heartstring stiff and useful for curses specifically," the man listed and turned to me, "Annalisa Grimwood wand unknown as of yet. Shall we solve that today?"

"Yes please, sir."

Ollivander, I can only assume that it is the wand maker, pulls out a tape and asks for my wand hand. I hold out my right and the tape measure gets to work. Ollivander, meanwhile, is pulling out boxes and placing them on the table.

"Enough," he instructs the tape measure. The item falls to the floor lifeless and I turn to the wizard.

That's when the trial and error begins. After the first three wands Ollivander shakes his head and pulls out another group. Five wands and another group. Four from that one and that's when he pulls out the thirteenth wand.

"An unusual wand, 13 inches ash with a hippogriff feather core. Perfect for charms and defense work with a light spring," Ollivander explains.

I hold the wand and smile. It feels right. A quick flick and a shower of purple sparks fly out of the wand.

"Interesting choice," Ollivander mutters, "That will be nine galleons."

Mother pays for my wand and we leave the building, go back to the Leaky cauldron, and leave through the floo system. Rowan and I arrive at our house and step out of the way as we brush off our robes.

"Annalisa."

I stiffen and turn to the fireplace where our father had just walked out.

"Yes father?"

"Dueling room in five minutes. If you are late you will regret it."

I nod and know that I will be using my wand this time. I could only hope that I knew the spells well enough.

**Hello all! To those of you who have read Crystalline Glass before, yes I've started reposting it. I wasn't happy with different grammar mistakes and plus it was missing a couple of chapters. I also took the first chapter, which was huge, and broke it up into three different chapters. I haven't changed much of the main points in the story, so if you don't want to reread you don't have to.**

**To those of you who are new to Crystalline Glass, welcome! I hope you enjoy! **


	2. Platform 9 34

I watch the people bustle around Platform nine and three quarters, wondering who I would be spending the next year with. Parents hug their children and there are teary goodbyes for the first years. I don't get any of the normal goodbyes. Mother and father are talking with Tessa about her sixth year at Hogwarts. I turn to Rowan who is holding onto my sleeve tightly with no intention of letting go.

"Hey Rowan, you know I've got to go to Hogwarts. I have to learn something other than the crap that our parents are teaching us," I whisper to him.

"But why can't I go with?" Rowan asks. His voice is low and I know that if there was any chance that mother or father could have heard him then he would not have asked.

"Because you aren't old enough yet. Wait, in two years you'll be coming with me and we can stay at Hogwarts away from our parents. Tessa will have left by then too so you won't have to worry about her," I tell him.

Rowan gives a small grin, "Yeah, only an older sister who wants to humiliate me."

I laugh and pull him into a light hug before letting go. Ignoring the twinge in my left shoulder, I turn to my trunk to pull it on.

"Not so fast Annalisa. Your father and I have decided that you will be watched by Tessa while at Hogwarts. We do not like your phase of questioning our every belief, and with you doing that for the past five years we do not appreciate it," mother hisses, "We await your sister's owl of when you are sorted into Slytherin. You may be showing unwanted behaviors right now, but once you are around other Slytherins and purebloods then you will find yourself changing to their viewpoints."

Holding back a snort, I nod stiffly and give a proper bow and walk onto the train with my trunk following me. I can hear Tessa muttering under her breath behind me and know that she's complaining about having to 'babysit' me.

I glance behind me and see that her attention is on something else and slip behind a group of parents who are saying goodbye. Walking through the crowd, I feel my heart catch a bit at all the signs of affection.

_'Get over it Ann, your family is Rowan and yourself, and you have to take care of him. Merlin knows what help your parents and Tessa are.'_ I think. Shaking my head slightly, I arrive at the end of the train and board it without pause. I find an empty carriage and place my things in the rack and settle down to look out the window. A few seconds later, my foot is bouncing up and down because I don't have anything to do.

I pull out my wand and cast a small charm. A dark purple mist comes from my wand and takes the form of a wolf. It paces around on the seat in front of me then sits down and looks up at me as if thinking 'I'm here without company, what do you want me to do?'

I sigh and cast another charm and a black wolf joins the purple one. They run around on the chair, playing and rolling around. I smile as I watch them and cast another wolf. This one is a more brown color and is quickly accepted by the other two.

The door slides open and I look up to see a paler skinny boy with tawny hair and amber eyes is standing there. His robes are second hand and he looks like he was sick recently.

"Can I sit here? Everywhere else has a bunch of people and well…I don't want them staring at me," the boy mutters.

I smile, "Come on in. I'd like the company."

The boy smiles slightly and enters. As he places his things away he notices my wolves running around. The boy blinks and then shakes his head.

"Sorry, I'm Annalisa Grimwood, but call me Ann." I offer my hand.

"Remus Lupin." He shakes my hand and gives another shy smile.

I sweep my wolves onto my hand and place them on the window sill. They look confused for a moment before they start playing again. I watch for a moment as the purple one tackles the black one and the brown one shakes its head as if thinking 'Why am I stuck with you two?'.

"Take a seat Remus, I don't bite," I grin.

Remus pales slightly, but smiles, "Right. Sorry, but I'm a bit nervous. My parents are extremely protective and so I haven't been around a lot of other people my age. They're the best parents I could ask for though. They care for me a lot and well…sorry, I'm rambling."

"Don't worry about it." The more he talks about his family the less I talk about mine.

The door opens again and a short, pudgy blonde boy looks at us nervously. I jump slightly when my wolves look at him and growl. Turning to them, I frown and wave my wand, ending the charm.

"Please don't let my wolves scare you. Can we help you?" I ask.

"Th-that's alright. I just kinda have a f-f-fear of wolves. Can I sit here?" he asks.

I turn to Remus, "Fine by me. What about you?"

Remus looks at the boy wearily but nods. Remus then looks out the window again, his face etched with caution.

I frown slightly, but turn to the new boy, "Well, this is Remus Lupin, he arrived a couple minutes before you. I'm Annalisa Grimwood, but call me Ann."

"W-w-why d-d-do you introduce yourself as Annalisa then?" the boy asks.

"Because that's what I was taught to do. Now will you tell us your name or do we have to guess?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

I nod and then smirk. Standing on the seat, I reach onto the rack and rifle through my trunk. After a moment, I pull out a pack of Exploding Snap cards that I had snuck. I hold up the cards and grin at the boys.

"Anyone up for a game?"

Remus tilts his head to one side, "Exploding Snap? It's been a while since I've played, but count me in."

"I'll play." Peter says. He doesn't stutter for the first time and I smile. Looks like Peter is getting more comfortable around Remus and me.

The three of us play a few rounds of Snap before the lunch lady comes and we buy our own assortments of candy. Remus buys a bunch of chocolate while ignoring all of the Bertie Botts. Peter does the opposite, buying a ton of the beans while ignoring the rest. I buy an assortment of the different types of candies.

A few moments after the lunch cart has left there's a commotion in the hall. I jump to my feet and look out the door, all the training and torture that I went through kicking in. I quickly note that the commotion is coming from the door of a compartment that is two ahead of mine. Two boys are facing another boy and a girl. The four of them look to be first years, but the boys facing the other dude and girl look like they're about to hex the one boy. At least they have their wands out and their shoulders are tense.

The girl has bright red hair and green eyes. Her face is set in a scowl and she's glaring at the other two. Her hands are on her hips and I can tell that she is shorter than I am.

The boy next to her has the greasiest hair I have ever seen and it is slightly disgusting. He has a long and slightly hooked nose. His skin is pale, and if I didn't know the other signs I would have thought that he was a vampire.

I can't tell much about the other boys, they have their back to me, but I can see that they are about the same height as me. One has extremely messy black hair, and the other has black hair as well, but it is more well-kept and elegant.

I pull out my wand and frown slightly. If these four decide to start a fight then someone could get hurt, especially since they probably have no idea what they are doing. I creep up behind the group so that I'm about five feet behind the other two boys. The people facing them are too mad to notice a first year girl walk up to the small crowd and I use this to my advantage. I flick my wand and a small red firecracker goes off above their heads. The group jumps and turns to me.

"Anyone care to explain what's going on or do I have to do that again?" I ask. I've got my face masked and look at them with an eyebrow raised.

"Why would you care?" the boy with the fly away hair asks. He has hazel eyes and is wearing glasses. His eyes widen when he sees that I'm the same age as them.

The other boy has silver eyes and a slightly aristocratic air about him. He looks familiar but I can't place where I would have seen him before.

"I care because up until you four made this racket, I was enjoying myself for the first time in a month," I tell them. It's the honest truth. Ever since I had gotten my wand my father and mother had been "training" me in magic. It was more like they had been attacking me until they got my wand away from me and then continued until I would fall to the ground with exhaustion.

The grease boy sneers at me, "Who are you?"

My eyebrow rises again, "Queen Ann of the Nile. Once again, why is there a problem?"

"Because these two," the girl points to the boys closest to me, "are nothing but arrogant bullies. They keep making fun of Severus."

"If they go to a different compartment will peace return to the train?" I ask.

"Only if they leave."

I turn to the other two, "Want to join me in my compartment? There are two other guys with me, and they seem to be pretty cool to hang out with."

The aristocrat boy nods, "Come on James, it's better to get away from the grease ball."

Fly boy shrugs, "Whatever. Let's get our trunks."

The two boys enter the compartment and come back out a moment later trunks in hand. I nod at them and turn around. Walking to my compartment, I hear the other two whispering. I shrug it off and open the door for them.

"Remus, Peter I'd like you two to meet some new people. The one with the glasses is James, but I don't know the other's name," I tell them.

The other boy looks up, "I'm Sirius Black."

James looks at Sirius, "You're a Black?"

"Yeah? And?"

"And I thought that you were alright," James grins.

Sirius smiles, "Well I can't say much about my family. But just remember that you are related to us Potter."

"Wow, just my luck to be stuck with a couple of rebels against the pureblood ideals," I sigh a light grin on my face.

"You two are purebloods?" Peter asks looking between James and Sirius.

James nods while Sirius gives a scowl.

"Wow…I am too, but I'm just a Pettigrew," Peter says.

I raise an eyebrow, "Who cares if you're a pureblood? Who cares if they're purebloods?"

Peter shrinks in his seat, "Sorry, it's just I…"

"You what?"

"Nothing." Peter's voice is nothing but a small squeak.

I glare at the boy for a moment before looking out the window. My mood turns slightly sour as I am reminded about my relatives. I also feel slightly guilty about snapping at the boy, especially since it's a typically normal thing to talk about.

"Ann are you alright?" Remus asks his voice low.

I turn to him with a pasted smile, "Yep, I'm fine."

Remus frowns, unconvinced, but turns back to the other boys leaving me to my thoughts. Sighing, I decided that it is best to not mope and join the conversation. They are talking about pranks and what could be done.

"A babbling potion in the drinks would be a good…also depending on what you did with it the person could start talking nonsense with certain words," Sirius muses.

"Do you know how to make a babbling potion?" I ask.

"Depends on which one you want, but yes I can." Sirius is lounged on the chair and grins at me before turning to James, "So what are you planning?"

James's eyes widen in mock shock, "Me planning something? What gives you that impression?"

"The fact that even though I've only known you for today I can pretty much tell what you are thinking," Sirius says.

"I'm not sure if we should do anything right away. We should probably spend a month making the teachers feel like we're just normal students," James explains.

I nod, "That could help having that little innocent façade. After all who would suspect a good student?"

Remus sighs, "Why do I get the feeling that you three will be causing a lot of problems?"

"Problems? Never!" Sirius smirks.

James opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the door opening. A blonde boy with a pointed face and a permanent sneer looks around the room, his eyes gleaming with malice when he sees me.

"Annalisa, I saw your sister who told me you are on the train. Why didn't you come to say hello?"

"Malfoy," I hiss, standing up and pulling my wand out at the same time. Remus and Peter watch me and Malfoy, James's eyes narrow, and Sirius comes out of his relaxed position and glares at Malfoy.

"Now, now, aren't you going to introduce me to your…friends?" Malfoy looks down his nose at Remus and Peter and James, but turns to surprise upon seeing Sirius, "A Black? Well, that's a surprise. I'll see you at the sorting Annalisa."

Malfoy turns to leave but looks at me again, "Oh and save me a seat will you?"

I growl and flick my wand. Before Malfoy even exits the compartment, he is hit with a large blasting spell and thrown out and into the wall. I step over to the door and glare down at him with cold eyes.

"Get out of here Malfoy, before I really curse you," I growl and shut the door. When I turn around I see four boys watching me with various looks on their faces. Sirius looks like he's stuck between approval of what I did and disgust of Malfoy. James looks shocked. Remus looks pensive and slightly surprised. Peter looks terrified.

"What?" I ask with a clipped tone.

"Nothing, we just didn't think that you'd be that useful against Malfoy." Sirius spits out Malfoy's name, which tells me that he would like to take care of the blonde boy as well.

I shrug and grab my book bag with my uniform in it, "I'm going to change into my uniform. I suggest you do the same, cause we'll be there in a little bit."

Leaving the compartment I weave through the students to change. A bunch of older girls are talking, but they sound like a bunch of little songbirds in the morning. Really annoying. I shake my head and look at what I've got on from my uniform. Pants instead of a skirt, the sweater is off, tie is hanging untied around my neck, robes are open and top button of my shirt is undone. I'm about to leave the compartment when the older girls stop me.

"You're wearing pants? Oh my god, you look so tacky and like a guy," the girl tweets.

"Is that so? And why do you think I care?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes at me, "Stupid first year."

I raise an eyebrow, "Ludicrous fifth year."

She turns to her friends asking them what ludicrous means and how I knew she's a fifth year. The girl really is an idiot. She's wearing a prefect's badge that isn't scratched or nicked so she has to be a fifth year. As far as her intelligence goes…I'm not even going to comment.

I leave the compartment and once again merge with the crowd. I'm a few doors away from my compartment door when a hand lands on my shoulder. I glance in the reflection of one of the windows. Tessa is waiting for me to turn around, but I grab her wrist and twist it.

"Annalisa! Let me go!" Tessa hisses.

That's right girly never lose your decorum. "What do you want?"

"Here, mother and father handed me this to give you as a gift for going to Hogwarts," Tessa snarls holding out a long black box.

I let go of her wrist and cautiously take the black box. Tessa gives me a glare then stalks off to terrorize some second years. Frowning I continue to the compartment and enter. Sirius notices my mood this time and frowns.

"What's up Ann? You look like you met my mother."

I pause for a moment before shaking my head, "Nope, just my sister. She gave me this, said that my parents wanted to give it to me."

James sees the box and smiles, "So open it!"

"I'd rather burn it."

"It can't be that bad, come on! Open it!" Peter says.

Remus raises an eyebrow, "I really think this should be Ann's decision."

Sirius nods, "I agree with Remus."

"What? You don't want to see what she got?" James asks.

"Hey, it's from her parents. Besides if it's anything good she'll let us see it," Sirius reasons.

I sigh, "No I'll let you guys see it. It shouldn't be _too_ bad…I hope."

I sit down and slowly open the box. Inside is a black lace choker with a silver charm on it. Remus gives a small wince and I frown. Sure seeing my family crest engraved on silver isn't the best thing, but it's not worth a wince. I close the top of the box, open the window, and chuck the whole thing out the window.

"I should have known better," I mutter.

The compartment is unusually quiet and I look up to see four boys watching me. Remus and Peter look confused, James looks intrigued, and Sirius looks weary.

"You're a Grimwood?" he asks.

I freeze when I realize what he's saying. It basically translates into 'You're a Grimwood, so are you psychotic like the rest of your family? Will you tell my relatives that I'm not acting like a proper pureblood? Can I trust you?'

I sigh, "Unfortunately. The only person in my 'family' who I actually consider my family is my little brother, Rowan."

Sirius nods and his eyebrows come together, "You have a brother named Rowan?"

"Yeah, why?"

"The name sounds familiar."

I shrug and turn to Remus. I'm about to ask him about his reaction, but something about how he looks me in the eye stops me. I can ask him about it later when there are less people around.

"A Grimwood? Do I have an attractant for children of obsessive pureblood families on?" James asks.

"Nope, just good luck when it comes to attracting black sheep."

"Though since I'm the black sheep of the Black family does that make me a white sheep?" Sirius asks.

We pause at his question and then laugh.


	3. Sortings

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a large man shouts.

Our group of five changes course and arrives by the large man who gets bigger with each step. By the time we reach him, we practically have to look straight up to see his face. The man is wearing a large moleskin coat and has a really wild beard.

"Woah! Dude you're huge!" Sirius shouts.

"Sirius!" Remus hits him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" he asks.

Remus shakes his head and turns to the large man, "Sorry, we're quickly learning that he has no tact."

The man laughs, "Don't worry 'bout it. I'm used to it by now. Alright if yeh'd follow me."

The man walks away and leaves us all scrambling to follow. For every step he takes we have to take five. It's a good thing though because it makes us all at a light jog to keep up, and so we get to our destination faster. We arrive at a lake with a fleet of small boats at the edge.

"Only four to a boat," the man says.

I look at the four boys, "You all sit together, and I'll take one of the boats next to you."

They nod and sat down in a boat while I climb into the one on its right and lounge in the back. The boats quickly fill and it isn't until I hear a groan from behind me that I realize that, other than myself, my boat is completely empty. I look up and see the red head and grease ball from the train.

"Damn, I must have the worst luck," I mutter then raise my voice, "Can I help you?"

The red head scowls at me, "Other than moving your feet? No. We need to sit with you to get across the lake."

I raise an eyebrow, "Fine, just stop biting my head off. You don't know me and I don't know you, so cut it out."

"She may not know you Grimwood, but I do," grease ball sneers.

"Really? Then I find myself at a disadvantage. Lord Greaseball knows my name but I don't know his," I drawl, pulling out the bored pureblood attitude. I may hate it, but it can come in handy at times. The fact that he's taken a bad attitude with me when I don't know him rubs me the wrong way.

The boy narrows his eyes, but steps into the boat and then helps the red head in. They sit at the front of the boat and talk, leaving me to trail my fingers in the water when the boats are launched. My eyes are half closed with my head leaning back. I look up at the stars and trace out the constellations that I know. Corvus, Orion, Draco, Leo, Canis Major, Canis Minor, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor and a whole heap of others. As we continue around a bend, I hear a bunch of gasps and turn my gaze to the front of the boat. A huge castle looms in the distance with its lights twinkling.

My mouth twitches then breaks into a full blown smile. The sight of the castle is beautiful. There's one word that comes to mind for me at the sight. Freedom. Freedom from my relatives and their expectations. Freedom from having to hide behind a stupid mask of indifference. Freedom from what I had been dreaming of escaping for the last five years.

The boats pull under a curtain of sea weed and land. Our group follows the giant, that's the only word I can come up with to describe him, to a set of large doors and he knocks on them. A moment later the door opens to reveal a strict looking woman with her hair pulled back into a bun.

"The firs' years Professor," the giant says.

"Thank you Hagrid." She turns to us, "Follow me."

Like a small herd of sheep we enter the door and find ourselves in a large marble room.

'Must be the Entrance Hall.' I think. Tessa and my parents had told me a lot about Hogwarts when I was little so I know more than the normal kid. The woman leads us to a small room and we all cram ourselves into it. Once we all are situated the woman begins to speak.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a moment you will be taken in to be sorted into your house. While at Hogwarts your house is like your family," she says.

'That's just great. If my house is like my family then I'll sleep in a broom cupboard.' I frown.

"In Hogwarts you may earn and lose points according to your behavior. At the end of the year the house cup will be awarded to the house with the most house points. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now I shall come back for you in a moment to go to the sorting so I suggest that you all sharpen up." With that the woman turns around and leaves the room. The moment she is gone chatter breaks out amongst the students.

"So what house do you think you'll be in?" Peter asks.

"I'm going to be in Gryffindor!" James smiles.

"I'm not sure…I'm pretty smart so maybe Ravenclaw, but I would be happy even if I was in Hufflepuff," Remus says.

"Well if family tradition stands true, then I'm stuck with Slytherin," Sirius sighs.

I turn to him, "Family tradition doesn't decide where you go. I'll tell you what, if you try to get into another house then I will too. It's time to break this bloody tradition."

Sirius pauses for a moment then a grin spreads across his face. He nods and then turns his thoughts inward again.

I sigh and look up when the door opens and the woman is standing there.

"They're ready for you."

She leads us into the largest hall in the castle and I gaze around the room. There are five tables with one at the front on a dais and four standing perpendicular to it. There is a house banner above each of the tables and the school's coat of arms above the one at the front. On the Dais also stands a stool with a hat on it.

'Wait, we're being sorted by a hat? You have got to be kidding me!' I roll my eyes and look to see the reaction of the boys. They all have varying levels of confusion on their faces, but the looks quickly change. Remus bites his bottom lip trying to figure out what is going on. Peter looks scared, this causes me to give a slight snort of annoyance. Sirius looks bored, and James just has his eyebrow raised.

Turning back to the front I see that the hat has now gained a mouth and seems to wait for the talking to die down then begins to sing.

"_Come one come all and listen to what I've to say,  
>For it was long ago that I was born.<br>In the magic of an ancient day,  
>Godric Gryffindor pulled off the hat he's worn.<br>His friends looked at him puzzled and confused,  
>What was the use of a hat they surely must have mused.<br>When we have gone who will sort the students? Godric asked.  
>We must find something that is unbiased.<br>So in a moment they placed inside the values they did cherish.  
>From kind Hufflepuff came loyal dedication,<br>Those who value friendship, their bonds never perish.  
>For those who value an education,<br>Intelligent Ravenclaw gave an oasis for those with wit.  
>Slytherin knew what must be done,<br>So a house of cunning is what he found fit.  
>And finally for Gryffindor he wanted lots of fun,<br>Found that those with lots of nerve were the best.  
>Now come up here and take a seat,<br>And I will find where your heart may rest."_

I applaud with the rest of the students and watch the hat with some interest. From what I was able to gather the hat can tell what we value above all else and can find what house we belong in.

"When I call your name you will come up and place the hat on your head. It will then sort you and you will go and sit with your house mates," the teacher says then proceeds to call out the names. My mind drifts as she goes through the names, but is brought back when I hear Sirius called up.

Sirius walks up to the stool with his back straight and confidence in his step. I catch the nervousness in him though when his right hand clenches slightly before relaxing. The hat is placed on his head and we wait. It was a couple of minutes before the hat bows down.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouts.

Silence rings through the hall as people watch in awe. A Black in Gryffindor? As it sinks in a smile spreads across my face and I start to applaud loudly. After a moment the three boys next to me applaud as well with James giving a whistle. The hall then wakes up and clapping spreads throughout four of the five tables. The Slytherins, of course, were glaring at him like he had betrayed them all.

The sorting continues and three people later, including the red head who is Lily Evans, the teacher gets to the 'G' section. What is the first name she calls out? Mine of course.

"Grimwood, Annalisa."

I straighten my back and walk up there with apparent ease. Only someone who knows me well would be able to tell that there is a slight tension to my jaw and that my shoulders are a little too stiff. I place the hat on my head and wait.

"Ah, Annalisa Grimwood. I have been waiting for you since your sister Tessa came," the hat mutters in my ear, or is he in my head?

'Ok, first off don't call me Annalisa. It's Ann. Second who cares about Tessa, she's a pain.' I think.

"Someone's got a bit of a temper. Rather bold of you. I can see something about you…oh dear…you certainly know your dark spells don't you?"

'Yeah, well with a family like mine you find out how to use them at a young age.'

"Yes, but you've _seen _these spells preformed."

'And? Can we get on with this bloody sorting? I'm hungry and don't feel like having to wait forever!'

"All right, if you wish. How about Slytherin? Keep with the family tradition?"

I almost growl, 'Hell no! You do that and I'll reacquaint you with a needle and thread!'

"Cheeky little kid, I thought girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice?"

I chuckle, 'Most are, but they changed my recipe. I've got tobacco sauce, double the spice, and one hell of a family.'

"True, I won't place you in Slytherin though, you'd rebel more than you already are, even though you'd do well there. You're too tough for Hufflepuff, and you'd drive the Ravenclaws crazy. Yes…the best house for you," the hat stop muttering in my head and shouts for the rest of the hall to hear, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Once again, silence. I know what most of the people in the hall are thinking. It's something along the lines of two people from very old pureblood families going to Gryffindor rather than Slytherin? Is this the apocalypse? That's when Sirius stands up and with a quick whistle begins to clap. The three boys join in as well and once again the hall wakes up.

I reach the table and smirk at Sirius, "That was lovely. Though your silence went longer."

"Well what can I say? I'm just that awesome," Sirius shrugs with a grin.

The two of us sit down and discuss the sorting as it continues. We're talking about a Slytherin that has just been sorted when we hear "Lupin, Remus" from the front.

Watching Remus walk up to the stool, I can tell that he isn't so much as nervous, as he is awed. It strikes me as odd that he would be so relieved to be going to Hogwarts. Is it that he didn't show magic until a short while ago, or is it something else entirely?

The hat is quite for a moment before it opens its large brim for a moment before closing it. It opens its mouth again and shouts out Remus's fate.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Sirius and I applaud again and Remus walks over to us with a blush rising on his cheeks. He gives us a mock glare as he sits down and we smile innocently. The sorting continues and we watch with half interest half boredom.

"Malfoy, Lucius."

The hat is on his head for about five seconds before it yells out "SLYTHERIN!"

"Were we really expecting anywhere else?" Sirius asks.

I shake my head, "No, but I'm surprised that the hat touched his head for that long."

"Pettigrew, Peter."

The hat has to think for a while, making the already nervous Peter even more nervous. He is so tense that when the hat yells "GRYFFINDOR!" that he falls backwards off of the chair. Laughter mixes with applause and he runs to the Gryffindor table.

"Potter, James."

James almost struts up to the chair and after thirty seconds the hat half shouts half laughs his decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

James smiles and comes to the table and sits on Sirius's other side.

"What did you do to the hat? It sounded like it was trying to hold back laughter," Sirius questions.

"Oh, it knew where I was going in a second, but we had a little conversation and it ended up liking some of my jokes," James grins.

Remus shakes his head while Sirius laughs quietly. I bite my lip to avoid laughing, when the name "Snape, Severus." is called. Lord Greaseball walks up to the hat and the teacher, who's name I remember is McGonagall, tries to place the hat on his head, but the hat screeches "SLYTHERIN!" while it's still three inches above the boy's head.

"Hmm…greasy isn't just a Slytherin, he's a true Slytherin," I muse.

"True Slytherin?" Remus asks.

Sirius nods, "Only a Slytherin who knows an extreme amount of Dark Magic can get that kind of response. My cousin Bellatrix got that when she was sorted."

"Sorry to hear that. Slytherins are a pain to deal with," I say.

Our conversation continues through the rest of the sorting and by the end the five of us have decided that we were going to really enjoy this school year.


	4. Friends and Nightmares Beginning

_I duck a spell that is dark green in color and I quickly mutter a couple of personal shield charms. I wave my wand and the windows to the room are slammed shut, blocking all light that could come in from the full moon._

_"Hiding in the dark Annalisa? Could you be any pettier?" father sneers._

_I know that I have an advantage. No one in my family can see in the dark as well as I can, and that is partially because of my little gift. I can see my father looking around trying to see in the dark, since I cast a charm that makes it so that no illumination spells will work._

_Ignoring his comments, I mutter a quick incantation and flick my wand. The moment the spell is gone I move to new location. I'm not fast enough though and get hit with a hex. I hiss when it cuts through my skin and pull out my sword. Using my right hand to cast spells and my left hand to wield my blade, I attack and defend at the same time. A moment later though, I'm pinned against the wall with a bunch of ropes, and the one at my neck is digging in slightly._

_"Too bad Annalisa. You might have won if you weren't so pathetic. Now let's see how well you can defend yourself without a wand or sword." Father lets me down from the wall and I'm left with just my arms, legs and head to defend myself. As a black spell zips toward me I know that I'm going to hurt in the morning._

I wake up with a groan as I remember my dream. Damn training. I glance at the clock and see that it's three thirty in the morning. I sigh and change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. I then make sure that the curtain rod holding the surtains of my bed is strong enough and that the bed posts won't break. I grab onto it, bend my knees so that I'm hanging in the air, and start to do pull ups. When I've reached fifty, I change positions so that I'm hanging by my knees and start to do sit ups, all the while trying to calm my thoughts down so that I can sleep. It's an impossible task and I don' t know why I keep trying to. My thoughts are always whipping around, and if I'm not thinking about something specific, then I'm making notes of everything I see. Sometimes my thoughts sound like my voice and at other times they're just there.

Frowning, I grab onto the bar with my hands and flip down from the bar. I look around and realize that I won't be able to do anything up here. I grab my wand and shrunken sword and descend the stairs into the common room. During the last month here, I have become even better friends with the boys and I can tell that Sirius is going through the same thing that I am. Pureblood parents are consistently concerned with their outward appearance and having a child in Gryffindor is the worst thing possible in their opinion.

I flick my wand a couple of times and the furniture moves to the edges of the room. I grab my sword and turn it back to its normal size. After casting a charm like the one for my wolves, a dark blue human shaped shadow pulls out a sword made of the same substance as it. After a moment it swings its sword at me and we begin to fight.

I'm so distracted by my fighting that I don't even notice when someone enters from the boy's dorms. I duck one of the swings of the sword and swing mine in an arch. The figure cannot bring up its sword in time to block mine and I manage to cut off its head. The spell disappears and I'm standing in the middle of the common room slightly out of breath.

"Woah…"

I spin around sword still in hand, but stop when I see that it's just Remus.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you come down when I normally do, and that made me edgy," I apologize.

"No…I should have made some noise. How are you able to do all that stuff?" Remus asks.

Shrugging, I wave my wand and a couple of lights come on, "I've been practicing sword fighting since I was five. It started out with fencing and then moved on to more advanced stuff."

"You know how to sword fight?" Remus's eyebrows shoot up.

I nod and get an idea, "You wanna learn how? We're both wide awake and we've got time till people start arriving."

Remus bites his lip, but I can see that in his eyes that he is really considering the idea.

"We'll use wooden swords and I'll teach you the basics. We'll skip fencing. It's boring and really useless outside of sport." I then wave my wand and turn a couple of Knuts in my pocket into a pair of wooden rapiers. I hold one out to Remus with the handle toward him. He hesitates then grabs the handle.

With a smile, I begin to show Remus the basic defensive moves. He watches as I perform the move five times, three to point out the main parts of the move, and twice again for it to sink in. He then attempts the move and I will help him if he needs an adjustment.

The outside starts to lighten and I decide to stop the lesson for now and move the furniture back into positions. Remus is watching me, but he holds the wooden swords tightly and I can tell that he's excited and enjoys sword fighting. Most people that I know do.

"So do you think that we'll be able to practice again? I understand if you don't want to, but that was pretty fun, and I really think I was getting the hang of it," Remus rambles.

I smile because I have never really known him to get excited over something before. Well…not to this level.

"Of course we can practice again. It would probably be better if we do it outside though. I'm used to practicing in a dueling room so with two people in here it's kinda cramped," I explain.

"You've been in a dueling room?" Remus asks.

"Yeah, there's one on the main floor of my house," I say. Once again I find myself in a situation that I'm not too comfortable with. Remus notices and backs off.

"Hey want to help me get James and Peter up? I swear those two can sleep through a bomb," Remus sighs, a mischievous glint to his eyes."

I nod and follow him up to the boy's dorm. Inside Peter is snoring and cocooned in his blankets. James is lying with one arm off the edge and is sprawled. Sirius is lightly sleeping and it's obvious by how he's gripping the sheet that the dream isn't to pleasant.

"I'm going to wake Sirius up first. He looks like he's having a nightmare," I whisper to Remus.

Remus turns to Sirius and nods.

I creep over to the bed and lightly shake Sirius's shoulder.

"Sirius…Sirius wake up," I whisper.

His eyes open slightly and he grins, "This is a better wake up then yesterday."

I grin, "I figured you needed a break from those two."

Standing, I walk back to Remus, who has a bucket of ice cold water hanging over James's bed. I pull out my wand and think about the noise charm I read about. Before the spell is cast, I place silencing charms on Sirius and Remus so that they can't hear it.

"What was that for?" Sirius asks.

I flick my wand and writing appears. 'It's so that you two aren't deaf with the spell that I'm going to use.'

"What about yourself?" Remus asks.

I grin and conjure a pair of protective ear muffs that would be used at a muggle shooting gallery. I place them on my head and nod at Remus.

At the same time as I cast my charm Remus lets the bucket turn over. James shoots out of bed, but his yell of surprise is drowned out by a loud bang like a cannon shot magnified by a hundred decibels. Peter jumps and falls to the floor with the noise.

I wave my wand and the charms on Sirius and Remus are taken off and the two boys are laughing like crazy. I take off my muffs and place them around my neck.

"That was bloody BRILLIANT!" Sirius laughs.

"Wait what did you say?" James asks.

"Can't you hear a word that we're saying?" Remus asks.

James frowns, "Can you guys stop pretending to talk?"

"JAMES POTTER WEARS PINK UNDERWEAR!" Sirius shouts a frown on his face.

James's eyes widen, "Ok what's going on? Whenever Sirius yells everyone can hear him! And he never pretends to yell!"

"Oh crap. I think I powered the spell a little too much." I wave my wand and the following words appear.

'James I think I overpowered my spell and you guys have gone temporarily deaf.'

"YOU WHAT?" James bellows.

'JAMES! Calm down. All we need to do is go to the hospital wing and you can get your hearing fixed. This isn't permanent, it's just temporary.' I spell out.

James huffs, but relents.

"I think we all should change before going to Madam Pomfrey," Remus says, a spell writing out what he said so that James and Peter know what's going on.

I nod and exit their dorm. I enter mine and change into my uniform in about a minute and a half. As I'm about to exit, Lily Evans steps in front of me.

"Where were you last night Grimwood? You weren't in your bed when I woke up this morning," she says.

"It's none of your business Evans. Now get out of my way."

"No, I think that we all deserve to know what you are doing! When you leave in the middle of the night to return and change then we deserve to know!" Lily says.

My eyes flash cold, "Evans, get out of my way."

"No."

Snarling I pull out my wand, "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"

Lily floats in the air and I flick my wand to her bed sending her rocketing to it.

"Leave. Me. Alone!" I growl before I leave the room, slamming the door behind me. I stomp down the stairs. Of course Evans would put me in a bad mood! She seemed to have it in for me since I helped James and Sirius, and that only got worse when she realized that I'm good with magic.

"Of course I'm good at magic! I've had it pounded into my head every minute of the day since I was five. And just because I'm not sleeping when she wakes up doesn't mean that she has to rag on me," I mutter furiously. I then reach the boy's dorm and knock sharply. Sirius opens the door and jumps back shocked at the look on my face.

"What happened?"

"Evans decided that she needs to know every little thing about me, including why I wasn't sleeping at three thirty in the morning," I growl.

Sirius nods and lets me into the room. The boys are dressed and have their bags. James and Peter are looking around uneasily. Apparently, they had never understood how much they rely on their sense of hearing.

"Come on, let's get these two to the hospital wing so they can get their hearing back," Remus says.

Sirius then places his arm on James's shoulders as if they were just going out for a stroll and hanging out. Remus and Peter meanwhile follow other two like normal, leaving me to be the last in the group. This is a good thing because I can watch their backs if Snivillous decides to attack.

We walk down to the hospital wing and there aren't any _misunderstandings_between us or any other students. Madam Pomfrey flutters around for a moment giving James and Peter all the right potions to bring their hearing back.

"What, might I ask, caused this?" the matron asks.

"A spell gone wrong. I over powered it on accident," I say, sticking with the truth.

She nods and propels us out of the Hospital wing. After the door shuts on us, Sirius starts laughing.

"I think that's that first time that Madam Pomfrey let someone go without causing them undue stress!"

Remus chuckles, "That's good and all, but we really need to get to class, and we don't have time to stop for breakfast."

James looks at his watch and curses, "And we've got Transfiguration first!"

"But no breakfast?" Peter whines.

"Oh, grow up!" Sirius snaps.

"Listen it's good to hear you argue and all, but we've got to go right now!" I say.

James nods, "Alright then let's go. Brisk walk enough?"

A bell rings and we glance at each other before Sirius breaks the silence.

"Screw brisk walk! RUN!"

With that the five of us take off running down the corridor. Remus, James, Sirius and I take off as fast as possible, and poor Peter is left looking slightly confused.

"Hurry up Peter!" James shouts over his shoulder.

We sprint up the stairs, ducking and dodging around the older kids. Unfortunately, a crowd has gathered on the landing that we need, and there's no way to go around them.

Smirking, I speed up and jump up onto the banister and run around the crowd, all of them yelling at the "psychotic Gryffindor first year".

Cackling, I continue along the corridor and I hear footsteps behind me. Looking over my shoulder, I see that two of the three boys are right behind me and the third one is on his way. Laughing, we continue to our class where McGonagall scowls as we enter the class smiling and joking.

_"Tessa? Where's Annalisa? I can't find her," Rowan asks._

_Tessa scowls, "Who cares? She's a filthy blood-traitor!"_

_Rowan takes a step back in fear, then turns around and flees. As he runs through the house I want to yell at him that I'm right here, that I'll take care of him, but I know it won't help._

_"ANNALISA!" Rowan yells. His voice cracks as he looks around._

_Everyone in the house ignored him and no one helped him. Frantically, Rowan ran down the stairs and into my room. The place is empty and there isn't any proof that I had even lived down there. He looks around with wide eyes and flings himself into a corner of the room._

_"Why? Why did you go? Why did you leave me here with them? How could you Ann?" Rowan sobs, "HOW COULD YOU?"_

I jerk awake and glance around trying to find Rowan before I remember that I'm at Hogwarts in my History of Magic class. Pushing down the odd fear that I feel, I shake my head and look around. The teachers would place the most boring class of the day right before our flying lessons. They want to torture us. Yawning, I place my head in my hands and take a deep breath hoping that it might help. It doesn't.

Muttering a couple of choice words under my breath, I look at the clock and see that we'll be getting out of here soon enough. I pull out a piece of spare parchment and begin to doodle on it.

**Having problems?**  
><em>Hey Sirius<em>.  
><strong>Are you going to answer my question?<strong>  
><em>Why? It's no big deal.<em>  
><strong>Uh-huh. You forget who my family is.<strong>  
><em>What does that have to do with anything?<em>  
><strong>I know when a person has had a bad dream. You know, personal experience and all that fun stuff.<strong>  
><em>Joy, oh joy.<em>  
><strong>No sarcasm please.<strong>  
><em>Now where's the fun in that?<em>

_That's right you can't respond because you'd be doing the same thing_.  
><strong>I'm not going to be getting any information from you am I?<strong>  
><em>Nope.<em>

I hear Sirius sigh and smirk. A couple of minutes later the bell rings and I jump up from my seat. Twenty minutes and flying class will start! I smile remembering the mock sword fight that had been staged on our first class. Sirius and I had been bored so we decided to have a small "fight". Madam Hooch didn't appreciate it very much and we gained a detention from it and we were grounded for two days.

"I can't wait to fly!" James shouts as we enter the hall.

"You never can James," Remus sighs.

Sirius laughs, "Just because you think that you're bad at flying! Remus you're actually one of the better fliers that I've seen."

Remus blushes, "I doubt it. There are far better fliers than myself. You, James, Ann and not to mention most of the Slytherins."

"Hold it. Slytherins have no idea on how to actually fly. They are good imitators, but they cannot actually have any skill at flying," I say.

"How in the world can you back that up? Where is your proof?" Remus asks.

I pause and think for a moment. Snapping my fingers I smile and turn to the guys.

"I have a bloody brilliant idea."

"Oh no! Whatever it is I'm not doing it! We got in trouble the last time this happened," Remus moans.

Sirius scoffs, "We wouldn't have if Peter hadn't made so much noise. Besides I think it's a great idea."

"But you don't know what it is." Peter is confused like normal.

"I don't need to. I can tell."

I roll my eyes, "Alright mister all knowing, shut up and listen up. Here's what I've got planned. In order to prove who the best fliers out of our years are, all we have to do is hold a drag race. Fly across the Quidditch pitch, around the three hoops, and back."

James's face broke into a wide smile, "That _is_brilliant!"

"Did you doubt me?"

James has the decency to look very sheepish.

"Come on let's go!" Sirius shouts and takes off running.

The only thing that we can do is laugh and follow him. As we race through the halls, something tells me that this will be one of those moments that you never forget.

"Ok, so you know the rules. Your top four fliers will race, and everyone else will stay at the starting line. Now go pick your racers."

All the Gryffindor first years gathered around each other and began speaking really quietly.

"Alright, as much as I despise to say it Potter and Black will have to race, they are the top boys and they should be in it," Evans sighs.

James and Sirius nod and turn to Remus.

"We also think Remus should fly. He's got a knack for it even if he won't admit it," Sirius says.

Remus shakes his head, "No, I refuse to fly!"

"Fine! You don't have to fly! But we still need two other people. Preferably ones that are quick on a broom," James huffs.

I pause, "We need two more people to race. To be honest I've got a bad feeling about the Slytherins, so I'm going to be backup. I think…"

I look around at the group of first years. Peter is a definite no. The boy cannot fly to save his life.  
>There are so few of us in this year, and hardly anyone who can fly well. I finally sigh as I nudge Sirius.<p>

"Start giving Remus puppy-eyes. We need him to fly, even if it's as a backup," I hiss.

Sirius nods and begins to work at lowering Remus's resolve.

"Evans should be one of our racers," I tell the rest of the crowd.

Evans's eyes widen, "Are you insane?"

I smirk, "That's been suggested before, but no. You're one of the better girls, and we need to win this."

After staring at me like I am out of my mind, she nods. I turn to Sirius who smirks and that, added to the frustrated looking Remus in the background, tells me that Remus is our other backup. James is smiling at another one of the first year girls, whose name I forget, and encouraging her.

"Attention, both teams up to the starting line, the race will begin in a minute!" Frank shouts. The Slytherins might not agree with having a Gryffindor as the referee, but they know that Frank is one of the most honest people in the school. And as the Head Boy, Frank Longbottom, and his fiancée Alice, has gained the respect of a lot of the students.

"Ok, go line up and we'll be watching," Remus tells them.

I nod, "And if you see a curse flying at you dodge it. If you have to drop off of your broom. The height limit is five feet, so it won't be that bad of a fall."

"You two will jump in if needed correct?" James checks.

"Yep."

"Of course. Now be careful!"

The four Gryffindors take their positions on the starting line and I pace. After a couple of passes I pull out my wand and watch them for any signs of magic.

'_Always keep your eyes on the enemy. Do the unexpected, and trust your instincts. Listen to your brain, and watch your heart.'  
><em>  
>This is one of the few times that my parent's obsessive training comes in handy. I notice Remus kneeling on his left leg, and know that he's watching the Slytherins as well.<p>

"Three…two…one…GO!" Frank shouts.

The eight students take off and instantly James takes the lead, Sirius following him, and one of the Slytherin boys in close pursuit.

I track the students as they reach the middle of the pitch when a red spell flies out of now where and hits Evans and the other girl.

"Come on Remus!" I shout as I grab a broom and sprint to the line. Right as my toe touches the starting line, I leap into the air, landing on the broom. Remus is right next to me as we rocket across the field and quickly reach the Slytherins who cast the spell.

I shake my head as I dodge around them and pull up behind Sirius.

"How's Evans and the other girl?" Sirius shouts as he dodges to avoid a spell. The bloody Slytherins haven't given up and no one other than the backups are allowed on the pitch because of some sort of spell that a Slytherin seventh year had placed up.

"They're fine! Just dazed! Apparently whoever cast the stunner doesn't have much practice with it!" I yell as I send a spell back at the guy trying to jinx James.

"Sirius, go up and protect James, they seem to be going after him!" Remus yells as he sends back a spell of his own.

Sirius nods and speeds ahead. He immediately tells James what's going on and flies about a foot to the left of him.

"Ready to have some fun Remus?" I ask as we loop around the hoops.

Remus gives a grin, "Definitely."

Remus takes the turn around the hoops wide, while I skim around them, brushing my shoulder against the cool metal. As we came around the bend the Slytherins cut in front of the hoops and began firing spells, granted they're very first year-ish spells, but they could still cause a broken bone if they made one of the boys fall just right.

I begin to mutter spells under my breath. Two body binds and one marionette jinx speed at the Slytherins, who get warning from the upper classmen watching. Two of the four managed to duck while the other two were hit with a stunner and my marionette jinx. I didn't watch the havoc cause by them being hit, but worked on the other two, Remus working alongside me.

"Ann! Come on!" Sirius shouts from the other side.

I look up and see that Sirius has stopped in the middle of the pitch, while James is still speeding along to the finish line. James is really close, so I know that he'll cross it soon.

"Remus, go!" I shout, directing my broom to my friend's right side so that I could protect him a little better. We race along the pitch until we meet Sirius, who spins on the spot and takes Remus's other flank.

"James alright?" I shout.

"Yeah, he's fine. Hell more than fine if that really is the Gryffindor Quidditch captain talking to him about being on the team next year," Sirius laughs.

"You know, somehow I don't doubt it," Remus chuckles.

**AN/ Thank you for reading. I'm going to update a couple of days in a row because I have fallen behind in the schedule that I had set up for myself. Hopefully Crystalline Glass will be up by early March.**


	5. Rough Start to Christmas Break

**Fair warning, this chapter gets a teensy bit graphic/violent. **

The snow falls around me as I walk along the school grounds. It's the night before Christmas break and I'm trying to avoid all the people who are jumping for joy at going home. Home…I really have never called my house home. It's been too dark and too cold to ever have that effect. There's never been the smell of baked cookies, or the sound of my siblings laughing at a joke, or the feeling of a gentle hug from a parent. No, there isn't any of that to be found at a Grimwood residence. All I've ever really known are training lessons, etiquette lessons, dancing lessons, school lessons, and behavior lessons. Training and behavior lessons were more like torture. Dancing and etiquette were a pain, and the schooling with our tutor was boring.

I sigh as I walk past the Whomping Willow at a safe distance. The moon is full tonight and I can feel something strange. Looking around, I don't see anything odd, but that's when the wind kicks up in an unnatural way. It blows my hair and cloak about, mixing the white in with the black. After a while it's a full out blizzard and I know for sure that this is an artificial wind. The question now is who could know what to do to use this specific spell? I frown, but growl when I hear her laugh.

By now my hair and cloak are whipping around so much that they resemble black flames. I shake my head and pull out my wand, muttering the counter curse that I had been taught as a child. The snow settles to show Tessa with her wand out, a frown on her face and something different in her eyes.

"Hello Tessa, lovely evening for a stroll huh?" I ask. As I ask this I've got a continuous train of thought running, 'Oh shit! She knows more magic, and is more experienced with magic! SHIT!'

"Yes, too bad you haven't got anyone to walk with you. It's much more pleasant with friends," Tessa smiles. A flick of her wand and snow rises from the ground and forms into little daggers. A wave of her wand sends them flying at me.

"_Protego!_" I cast the shield and the snow hits it harmlessly. I laugh, "Come on Tessa, a shaping spell? Really?"

Tessa smirks, "_Preteritus obscurum revelio_."

My eyes widen and I can't block the spell or dodge it in time. Memories flood my senses and I feel every bruise, every cut, every curse and jinx from my "training" sessions.

_"You're a failure! You don't deserve the name of Grimwood! You thoughtless, reckless, ungrateful child!" _my father's and mother's voice float through my head.

"No! Enough!" I hiss shaking my head. The spell dissipates and I glare at Tessa who is looking rather smug.

"So…tough little Annalisa still feels pain from her past…wonder what else we can find out?" Tessa sneers and sends another curse. I'm lucky because I block this one in time.

I pull my wand up to send a curse at her, but I get hit from behind by another spell. Flying forward, I manage to use my momentum to flip when I hit the ground, and face the new attacker. I recognize her instantly. Black hair, grey eyes, highly arched cheek bones and a spark of madness, which is what makes up Bellatrix Black.

"What's wrong bitsy baby Annalisa? Can't play with the big kids?" she coos.

My eyes flash as I send out a couple of spells. I get hit by another couple of spells and wince slightly.

"Ann!"

I look up towards the castle and see James running out of the doors with Sirius already half way to me. A whistle calls my attention back to Tessa and another couple of people melt from the shadows.

"Ann, I'd like you to meet some more of my friends. May I introduce them? The Lestrange brothers, Crabb and Goyale, Nott and McNair, and Snape and Malfoy. I believe that you already know the first years." Tessa waves a hand at each group introduced.

My mind goes through the calculations quickly. There are ten of them, eight of which are fifth years and older, all of them know some sort of dark magic, and we are only three first years, two who know mainly pranking spells and one who is somewhat competent in offensive spells. We are so screwed.

"What's wrong Tessa? Can't stand facing three little first years on your own? Gotta bring in a bunch of other people to feel big and strong as well?" I ask. Keep her talking, get James and Sirius out, and live another day.

Tessa sneers, "I believe in strength in numbers."

"Strength in numbers is true when facing people who are at equal ability as you, when against people who have less knowledge than you it's called cowardice!" I snap.

"Coward! You dare…?" A flick of her wand is the only warning I get.

I pull up a quick shield, but it blocks the spell feebly before breaking. I look to tell James and Sirius to run, but notice that we've been surrounded on all sides. They aren't letting us go without a fight. I turn to Tessa and sneer at her, my training coming into full play.

"Once again, facing three first years? PATHETIC!" I shout at her.

She rolls her eyes, "I'm sure that you can defend you and your friends enough to drag yourselves up to the hospital wing after we're done here."

"Are they actually going to attack us?" James mutters.

Sirius snorts, "Yeah, Bella is going to love this."

"As is Tessa. Damn, I never thought that they would try anything on grounds," I hiss.

For a couple of moments it's deadly quiet and I can tell that the other Slytherins were waiting for some sort of signal. I take a moment to cast a quick heating spell on James and Sirius, who had run out without pulling on a cloak, and both boys nod their thanks. The moon hides in the clouds and the spells break loose.

"Duck!" I command. Luckily the boys realize that they're out of their league here and do as I say. I laugh when Crabb and Goyale take each other out. Trust those idiots to do something worth their mountain troll appearance.

"Ok I want you two to work at keeping yourselves out of trouble, keep shields up at all times and let me take care of the offensive stuff. I don't know much in the way of spells, but I can take them on in a way that they won't be expecting," I explain.

"How?" Sirius asks.

I smirk and wink at him before standing up and aiming a spell at Snape and Malfoy. Those two have decided to stick together, which is a bad idea seeing as that they are the youngest and I want to take them out first. A quick couple of body bind spells and they're eating snow.

I duck a red light and back flip as a dark blue spell whizzes along. I run directly at the Lestrange brothers and duck a couple of spells. Once I'm within perfect distance I drop to the ground and knock the legs out from one, while springing up and kicking the other in the stomach. Spinning I go into frantic mode when I see James and Sirius back to back struggling to hold their shields against the bombardment from Bellatrix. Sirius catches my eye and nods.

"Hey Bellatrix!" I shout throwing my pocket knife at her. One thing I have learned at my  
>house, if you don't have a wand have some other sort of weapon.<p>

She looks up and ducks the knife, but gets hit by Sirius's stunner. She falls, and it becomes quite obvious that she won't be standing soon.

Nott, McNair, and Tessa are the only ones left and she's looking around wearily.

"Face it Tessa, we might be first years, but when you have two people who take each other out, and two first years who don't know diddly squat at protection then you are going to end up with some bruises."

"Is that true?"

I smirk and blend in with the shadows. It's a risk to actually make it look like I've left, but this trick does come in handy. I sneak up behind Nott and hit him in the pressure points on his neck. His eyes roll and he falls to the ground. I do the same with McNair. Tessa looks around and growls a curse under her breath.

"Having problems?" I ask. I sound like we were on a stroll and her shoe lace kept coming undone. I'm also lounging on a tree branch right behind her. She spins around and I cast a stronger shield around the boys. Can't have them getting hurt.

"How…no he wouldn't teach you that."

"You're right, but he's used it around me so often that I just…picked it up and made it better."

"You filthy blood traitor, how dare you say such a thing!"

My eyes narrow and I swing down from the branch I was on. Walking over to Tessa my eyes turn colder and she seems to realize that she's done something wrong.

"_Daddy dearest_ isn't all powerful, and _darling mother _isn't all knowing. Get. Over. It!"

"_Talea vesica!_" Tessa flicks her wand and I get hit with a dark blue light.

The beam cuts me from my left hip to my right shoulder, luckily it isn't deep, but it still hurts like hell. I gasp and then fly backwards as she hits me with another jinx.

"Think you're special now?" she whispers, "I wonder how your friends would feel being inflicted with the same thing that you are?"

"No! Sirius, James! RUN!" I shout, as I stumble to my feet.

"Foolish girl." Tessa Rolls her eyes and casts another spell, causing me to fall to the ground again, trying to catch my breath.

"Now where was I?"A shuffle is heard and Tessa starts to laugh, "So young Sirius Black thinks he can protect James Potter? This is interesting."

"Sirius…" James hisses.

"Shut up!" Sirius snaps.

Tessa laughs some more, "_Congelo tractus_."

My breath catches. Tessa has defiantly decided that it's worth using dark magic. I look up and can see that Sirius is stuck in front of James, unable to move at all. My jaw clenches as I slowly stand, holding the cut along my chest.

"Let…him…go!" I growl.

Tessa faces me calmly, a sneer on her face, "Or else what? You'll kick me?"

_"You're no good! You've been taught this so that you can take your proper place in the family and yet you refuse to attempt to cast any of the spells that you have been taught! You've got a wand now, so use it!" my father yelled at me. A flash of sickly yellow light was the only warning I got before pain rushed into my left leg._

"_Mens irretitus_," I hiss and flick my wand at her.

A brown mist encompasses Tessa and her eyes widen. She falls to her knees and is staring up at me, but I know that she doesn't see me. She's seeing something horrible, but I can't find it in myself to care. I glare at her, push her shoulder, and she falls back so she's lying in the snow.

Turning to Sirius I raise my wand, "_Solvo habitum_."

Sirius catches himself and stares at me with wide eyes. He seems to be thinking something along the lines of 'what did you do?'. Either that or it's absolute horror that I used dark magic.

"What kind of spell was that?" James whispers.

"Which one?" I can still feel fury running through me, but I can't take it out on anyone else. I need to calm down, _now_.

"The one with the brown misty thing," James clarifies.

I sigh, "It's a spell that will trap a person in their own mind for a short amount of time. There's a more permanent one, but I…I wouldn't ever do something like that to anyone."

I look up and see apprehension on James's face. It's obvious from my description that the spell is a dark one, and with his family's aversion to anything dark I can't believe that he's still standing there.

"Ann? Are you alright?" Sirius asks, his hand reaching for my shoulder.

"Don't." I say, dodging out from his hand, "Just don't."

Sirius nods and lets his hand drop.

"You two should get to the common room before you get in trouble," I murmur.

"What about you?"

I shake my head, "I need to calm down so I don't blow something up."

Before they can say anything I quickly melt into the shadows that surround us and head toward the Quidditch pitch.

_'Way to go Ann! You're halfway through your first year at school and you're already breaking your promises! Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_ I think angrily as I enter the large stadium. I growl and start pacing by the Gryffindor stands. Stopping in the middle of my pacing, I spin around and fire a hex at a bench. As it gets hit I fire more and more hexes at it, turning the piece into a bunch of toothpicks. I glare at the bench before repairing it and going through the process all over again.

_"Too weak. You'll never amount to anything. To think that you are of my flesh." _Mother's last letter flashes through my mind and I cast one last stunner at the bench, causing it to break into another round of firewood.

I blink a couple of times and swallow. Waving my wand the bench fixes itself again. I sigh and then head back up to the castle, my spirits low at having to go back to the dungeon that is called my house.

_'You know, when most people go on break they go home. You go to a house. What does that tell you?'_ I shake my head, but the thought continues, _'Think about it. Why do they have homes and you don't?'_

_'Because my quote unquote family is a bunch of idiots.'_

_'Blaming the family again? Tsk, Tsk. Come on Ann, it's not so bad…after all how is Rowan able to call it a home?'_

_'Rowan is young enough to consider anyplace he lives a home.'_

A light chuckle escapes me, _'Yeah right, you haven't considered that house home since you were five. Once again, what is the difference here?'_

"It's a bad thing when you can't win an argument against yourself," I mutter, "And probably even worse when you start talking to yourself about it."

The castle is nice at night. It's dark and quiet, to me it feels safe. There are no Slytherins to consistently look out for, you can hear people coming from far away and you only have to really worry about Filch and Peeves. The shadows are perfect for sneaking along in, and if you want to be extra sneaky then a simple silencing charm on your shoes will do.

I climb the stairs and can't stop thinking about what happened. It's like someone placed a video on reply.

_"Let…him…go!"_

_"Or else what? You'll kick me?"_

_"Mens irretitus."_

I shake my head and try to focus on getting back to the tower without getting caught, but I am now imagining different ways that they boys say we can't be friends.

_'Get. A. Grip! Come on you've dealt with isolation and being friendless before! Quit your bloody worrying. If they stop being your friends then it's no big deal!'_ I frown.

"Yeah, no big deal," I mutter, and continue up the stairs.

My footsteps echo slightly and I try to stop thinking about anything. It doesn't work. I wish that my mind wasn't so active. It's almost like I _can't _stop thinking. Even when my thoughts are not perfectly coherent they're still there.

A light meow reminds me that I'm still in the corridors, and glancing down Filch's cat blinks at me.

"Come here fur ball." Picking the cat up, I hold her out at arm's length and place her in one of the open urns that are on this level. The meowing echoes at me as I walk away and I smirk. I'm glad that I am a total dog person. Slipping into a passage I think about everything that's gone on since coming to Hogwarts and I must admit that I can't wait until I can see Rowan. I miss him like crazy. Rowan is my family and I hate leaving him at that pit of evil.

Glancing around a corner I sigh and go for the Fat Lady.

"Hey, wake up!" I hiss.

"Hmm? What?" The fat Lady jumps and her head whips back and forth.

"Sorry about waking you up. Phoenix."

"Stupid kids, waking me up at all hours," the Fat Lady grumbles as she swings forward.

Shaking my head I look at the fireplace and wonder how it will be when I get home. What will happen? Will my parents yell? Undoubtedly. Would they be angry enough to use other means of "punishment"? Maybe.

"You're getting in late."

I spin around and see Sirius standing in the door way leading up to the dorm rooms.

"Oh, hey Sirius. I just had to blow off some steam." I wave my hand. It's no big deal.

Sirius pauses, "So…are you alright? I know you got hurt earlier…."

"Don't worry about it Sirius. Go get some sleep." I brush past him and up to the girl's dorm. Hopefully Evans is asleep and I don't have to worry about a nosy teacher's pet.

Luck is on my side and the dorm is dark. The light breathing of the other girls tells me that they're all in a deep sleep and I slip into the bathroom. Locking the door and turning on the light I prepare to look at whatever damage was done.

My cloak falls to the ground and I scowl at my shirt. It's ripped too badly to fix, so I'll need another one. Unbuttoning it I notice that there isn't too much blood, so I'm hoping that's a good thing. I pull off the shirt and look at the cut, which looks even worse in the light. Its edges are jagged and uneven. It isn't bleeding too much, but it is surrounded by a pale purple tinge.

"Probably an aftereffect of the curse," I mutter.

There's a small dark bruise where her second knock-back jinx hit me and it looks really bad on my pale skin. I grimace, but grab a wash cloth and clean the wound. I'm going to be sore in the morning, but hopefully it won't be too bad. I hiss as I hit a particularly bad spot and shake my head to clear it a little.

_"OW!" Rowan cries from the dueling room._

_I run to him and find that he's been playing with one of the swords that hangs on the walls. He's got a slight cut on his leg, but other than that he's not hurt._

_"Oh Rowan…haven't we told you not to play with the swords?" I scold as I check his cut._

_Rowan sniffles a little, but he doesn't cry anymore, "Will I be alright?"_

_I smile at Rowan, "You betcha! Come on, let's go to the bathroom and get this fixed up."_

_"What about mummy and daddy? Can't they help me?" Rowan asks._

_"Mother and Father aren't home at the moment kiddo. Don't worry, I'll make it so that you'll be alright until they get back."_

_Rowan clutches my hand and we walk to the bathroom where I wash his cut and place a piece of gauze over it._

_"There, that'll work for now."_

_"Thanks Ann."_

_"Anytime kiddo."_

I frown and shake my head again. And odd longing has lodged itself in my chest and I frown and shake my head again.

"Come on pull yourself together," I mutter.

_'When was the last time you were able to cry when you got hurt and you weren't yelled at for it? But when was the last time that someone cared for _you_?'_

Clenching my jaw I bandage the cut and leave the bathroom. It's odd to be in the dark of the dorm room after the light in the bathroom. I creep to my bed and get in under the covers. The clock on Evans's bedside table reads 'O dark thirty' Closing my eyes I hear something like a howl on the wind and something nagging at the edge of my mind.

_Darkened shadows creep along and wave in the wind maliciously. A screaming echoes around the space. It's endless and I am drowning in it. Desperate to find some sort of light I look up and hanging in the sky above me the moon and Dog Star hang. In the blink of an eye they're blocked out and all I can see is black. All I can hear is screaming, yelling and laughter. Cold. Hard. Mirthless. My chest tightens and I can't breathe. I'm drowning in the dark and there's nothing I can do. There's no one I can turn to. And all the while the screaming continues, reminding me of someone who is surely long forgotten._

The train rattles along the tracks and I look out the window at the passing countryside. It's all been blanketed in white, and I dread having to return to the loneliness of my house. The one thing I can't wait for is to see my little brother. I've missed Rowan so much, and I hope that he hasn't gotten into trouble with our parents.

"Hey Ann, are you even awake?" James asks.

I yawn and smile, "Apparently. What's up?"

"Nothing, we just wanted to see if you want to play some snap?"

Nodding I sit up and nudge Sirius in the arm.

"What?"

"Come on, play some snap with us. Please?" I pout my lip a little bit and give him puppy eyes.

Sirius laughs, "Alright. But you need to work on your puppy eyes."

I shrug, "I don't have enough of the cute factor."

James deals the cards and the battle begins. It is obvious that we're all going to fail utterly and miserably, and to the one person who is consistently objecting to games.

"Remus, how are you so bloody fast?" James asks.

"I don't know. I just am."

Sirius tilts his head to one side, "Are you alright Remus? You look all pale and sickish again."

"Fine, I'm just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." Remus waves off the concern and smiles slightly.

Peter shakes his head, "More like you didn't get any sleep. Did you go to the hospital wing or something? You weren't in the dorm at all last night."

"Yeah, I went to the hospital wing, and well…you all know how Madam Pomphery is," Remus says.

James frowns, "Well, let us know next time."

"Why?"

"Cause we care about you!" Sirius throws his hands in the air, "Jeesh! How can someone who is so smart be so oblivious?"

"It's a gift."

I shake my head and look out the window again, "Hey guys! We're pulling in."

At first, the only thing I feel is apprehension. I don't want to go to that house. I don't want to go with those people. As the train pulls into the station, though, I see the one thing that changes my mind. Rowan is standing near the edge watching the train arrive as he bites his lower lip.

The train pulls to a stop and I rush out and to my brother. I don't notice the snow falling, or the bustling people.

"Ann!" Rowan cries as he throws his arms around my neck.

I pick him up and smile, "You know, it's a good thing that I'm so tall and you're so short, or else I wouldn't be able to pick you up."

Rowan laughs and holds onto me tightly.

"Would you like to introduce us to your little monkey?"

I turn around and smile at the guys, "Rowan I'd like you to meet my friends. This is Sirius, Remus, James and Peter. Guys this is my little brother Rowan."

They all nod and we talk for a minute before they go off to find their families. I turn my head and rest it lightly on Rowan's head.

"Are you alright Ann?"

"Yeah, I just missed you kiddo."

"I missed you too."

"Well, we have all Christmas break together. Now let's go find mother and father so that we can get to the house and get warm." I set Rowan down and hold onto his hand, "Do you want some coco when we get back?"

"Please? You make awesome coco!" Rowan grins.

"If you think that's good then wait until you get to Hogwarts. The elves there make the best coco ever."

"Better than Aunt Peggy's?"

"Better than Aunt Peggy's."

"No way! I can't wait until I get to go!"

"Just wait. Only a year and a half, and you'll already have your letter."

Rowan pouts as we weave through the crowd to the spot that didn't have any teary eyed parents. As we pull out so that they can be fully seen I notice that my parents are talking with the Blacks. Sirius isn't there yet so I assume that he's hanging around James's family. The group stops talking as Rowan and I walk up. I give them a quick bow and look to mother.

"Hello mother."

"We'll deal with you when you get home Annalisa. We're waiting on your sister." Mother sniffs and turns back to the crowd.

I sigh slightly and glance around the group of slowly disappearing people. How many people here are waiting to go home to freshly cooked cookies and warm eggnog? How many people's homes are actually decorated for the holidays?

"Mother! Father! It is lovely to see you again!" Tessa gushes.

I roll my eyes and Rowan silently giggles. I keep my hand on his shoulder and we wait for our parents and sister to finish up. I see James and Sirius hanging around Mr. and Mrs. Potter, with Sirius sending his family weary glances. I shake my head. It's better to just get it over with.

"Rowan, Annalisa, come. We're going home," Mother says. She starts walking toward the far end of the platform and steps up to one of the fireplaces that other magical families can use. Tessa and Mother have already gone through and I gently nudge Rowan forward. He looks back at me uncertain and I nod. Rowan disappears in emerald flames and I quickly enter.

"Grimwood's Quarters!" I say, tossing the dust to my feet. In a flash I'm gone, and the last thing I see is Sirius in the background watching.

Stepping from the house fireplace I brush myself off and look up. I quickly duck a book that flies my way. Glancing up I see Rowan kneeling behind a chair and Tessa and Mother are standing by the bookshelf. Mother has her wand in her hand and Tessa is holding a couple of books.

The Floo sounds behind me and I know that I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"How dare you hurt your sister like that? How dare you attack her?" Mother screeches.

My eyes narrow, "She came after me first! I was only defending myself!"

"Liar!"

I duck a couple of books, but then my father grabs my arms and holds me up. I can't dodge the next couple of books that hit me, but it isn't Tessa who worries me. Mother hasn't even started her hexing party yet.

My arms are pulled back more and mother raises her wand. I look her directly in the eye and they are emotionless. If you look into a heartless person's eyes you will not see emotion in their eyes. There will be nothing. No joy, or anger, or envy, or even maliciousness. They will be empty.

I barely even notice the different hexes coming at me, though I could identify each and every one of them. All I do is watch her eyes and they never change. They keep their emotionless grey color. There's no spark, no life to them. She doesn't even see me watching her until she actually looks at my face. When she sees me concentrating on her eyes something flashes in them for a moment before it's gone.

"_Lacertosus incendia,"_she says.

My head snaps back and I scream. Fire tears through me and I can't stop the pain. My back arches and I scream. That's all I can do. All I can control. So I scream louder and louder until it feels like my throat is being ripped apart, but still I scream because the pain is still there.

_'Enough, enough, enough. Stop, please just make it stop!'_ I wish I could yell those words, but I can't.

"What's the matter Annalisa? Can't take a little pain? Stop your screaming you weak, ungrateful child!" father hisses in my ear.

"_Finite Incantatum_. So what do you think now Annalisa? Do you still believe that you were defending yourself?" mother asks.

I gasp for breath and my eyes wander to Rowan who is cowering behind the chair. Turning back to mother I nod.

"Yes, I do," I rasp.

Mother growls, "_Lacertosus incendia._"

I bite my tongue. I don't want to scream anymore, but it's hard. The pain is like someone taking a very dull knife, making the metal white hot, and slicing into your skin and muscle with it. And this isn't even the cruciatus. I can't imagine what that would feel like.

She stops again and I take in a couple of deep breaths. Mother has a snarl on her face, but sill the emotion doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Throw her in her room. We'll wait until later to see if she's learned her lesson."

Father drags me to the door to the basement, opens it, and literally throws me down the stairs. I land on the floor oddly and my breath comes out in a great whoosh as I wince at the jarring feeling of hitting cement suddenly. I close my eyes tightly and catch my breath.


	6. A Little Party

"Ann? Ann are you alright?"

My eyes open slowly and a blurred shape is standing above me. I blink a couple of times and it clears so that I see Rowan watching me with sad eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Give me a moment." At first I can't tell if he's even heard me because my voice is so raspy, but Rowan nods and sits back on his heels. I take in another breath before sitting up, holding back a wince.

"I promised you coco didn't I?" I ask Rowan.

"You probably shouldn't go upstairs. Mum and dad are pretty upset with you and…I don't want you to get hurt Ann!" Rowan whispers.

My eyebrows come together, "Then why are _you_ down _here_? You could get in trouble, and I don't want you to get hurt!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't…" Rowan sputters.

I sigh and pull him into a hug, "No, I'm sorry. Thank you, but still I need you to watch out for yourself sometimes, alright? Now let's get you some coco."

Rowan slowly nods, and I can tell that he doesn't like the idea of going upstairs. We slowly climb up to the landing and I stick my head out and glance around the kitchen. No one is in sight and I can't hear anyone in the immediate vicinity. Opening the door a little wider I step out and look around some more. It's official, the coast is clear.

"Alright, come on." I wave to Rowan and he sneaks out of the door and over to the kitchen table.

I reach into the cupboards and grab a couple of mugs and the drink mix. Rowan grabs a chair and quietly slides it over to the stove. He reaches up into the cupboard above it and grabs the marshmallows. He slides the chair back into place and sets the marshmallows onto the counter. I grab the tea kettle and smile. It still has water in it and with the heating charm that our parents placed on it the water is still warm. The coco is made and I grab the mugs and Rowan is already at the door to my room with a plate of cookies.

Once the door is shut, we sit on the floor and I turn on one of my lights. Rowan grabs a chocolate chip cookie and dunks it into his coco.

"So what's Hogwarts like? Is it big?" Rowan asks around a mouthful off cookie.

I smile and grab a cookie, "Hogwarts is very cool. And it's HUGE! The entrance to where my house is at is up on one of the upper floors. Slytherins are in a drafty old dungeon, and I don't know where the Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws live. Hogwarts is an old castle and there's a lake on the grounds. The lake even holds a giant squid."

"Really?"

"Really."

"That is so cool! What about the teachers? What are they like?"

"Well…Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster and he's pretty cool. He's very…quirky. Dumbledore is everywhere. I swear he knows more about the school than anyone, but I don't think that he knows everything about Hogwarts," I chew a bit of my cookie and think some more.

"Professor McGonagall is the transfiguration teacher and the deputy Headmistress. She's also strict so when you come to Hogwarts you don't want to go against her. Professor Flitwick is the charms teacher and he's always happy. I swear he's swallowed a ten gallon jug of cheering potions or something." I shake my head, "Professor Slughorn is the potions teacher. He seems to be more into gaining connections than in helping students."

Rowan nods and finishes his coco, "So…"

"Rowan? Rowan where are you dear?" Mother's voice travels down to us from the main part of the house.

I frown, "Go upstairs and see what she wants. Hurry before she gets upset."

Rowan nods and hurries up the stairs.

I sigh and place the dishes on the table next to my desk.

I wince and take in a breath before standing up and holding my wand in front of me. My hand is shaking and I can tell that my ribs are bruised if not broken.

"Come on Annalisa. You need to do better than this if you will ever amount to anything. You need to do better than this if you're going to be the protector of this family!" father shouts at me.

I moan, "I've been working for the past twelve hours! Just give me four hours of sleep."

A flick of his wand and I'm flung back into the wall.

"It's only been twelve hours. Our family participated in battles that have lasted days on end." Father scowls at me and glares, "Your problem is that you're weak!"

I dodge the stunner he sends and growl. I am sick and tired of them calling me weak. Do they have any idea what it's like to have parents like them? I glare at him ready to let the spell that I'm thinking of fly.

_"Ann, the difference between you and your family is you're willing to do the right thing even if it isn't easy," Aunt Peggy says, "Never doubt yourself and trust your instincts. You don't have to sink to their level to win."_

I block a spell and frown.

_'But what if I've already gone to their level? I used a dark spell on the night before break. What if I've already crossed that line? What now?'_ My thoughts pause enough for me to send a couple of stunners in quick succession. _'If I've already done the wrong thing, and I could have just stunned her, then what? Get away from here so you can think!'_

"_Bombarda!_" I shout, aiming for the stone pillar behind his head. The moment my spell strikes stone, I am ducking behind another pillar. Stones fly past me and I then dash up the stairs and into the main part of the house. I slam the door shut and run up the stairs and into the second story. I hardly ever go past the third story and never to the fourth. I pass all of that though and reach the roof of the house.

The night sky greets me and the stars twinkle down at me. I know the one person who I can talk to about stuff like this is my Aunt Peggy, but I am not sure if I want to risk flooing to her. Frowning I look up at the stars again and trace the constellations.

I decide to floo her anyway. The fireplace in the library should be free since the only people who go into it are Rowan and myself. I re-enter the house and creep down to the second floor. Down the hall and to the left, I open one of the doors and slip inside.

The library is dusty like normal and the smell of books permeates the air. Pulling the floo powder out from the vase, I throw it into the fire and stick my head in, calling out Aunt Peggy's  
>address.<p>

"Aunt Peggy! Aunt Peggy are you there?" I yell.

I wait for a moment and Aunt Peggy comes out from her kitchen holding a plate and towel.

"Ann, how are you darling?" Peggy smiles.

"I'm alright, but I want to…need to talk to you about something."

"Alright, go on."

"Well I'm on Christmas break right now, but something happened before I arrived back at the house. You see the night before we left Tessa kind of cornered me. She had a group of older Slytherins with her and they began to taunt and use magic against me. I fought back, cancelling their spells and whatnot, and two other Gryffindor first years came to try and help. Anyway…at one point it was Tessa, the Gryffindors and myself left standing. Well…Tessa decided that she'd had enough and used some…used some dark magic. A-a-after a few moments I was able to focus again and I…I-I-I used a dark spell back," I explain. I'm biting my lip at this time and Peggy is staring at me wide eyed.

"What spell did you use?" She asks, her voice hard.

"_Mens irretitus_," I whisper.

The plate falls to the ground and shatters. I wince and Aunt Peggy stares at me her eyes wide.

"You used _mens irretitus_successfully? Was there a chance of another spell?"

I swallow, "I-I-I could have used a stunner, b-b-but I d-didn't realize it until recently."

Aunt Peggy's posture stiffens. She glares at me and walks to the fireplace.

"You promised me Annalisa. You promised me that you would never use dark magic, ever! You gave me your word that you would never turn into them," Aunt Peggy growls.

"But I haven't! I regret the spell!"

"It's too late Annalisa. Once the spell is cast, you cannot call it back. You have broken your promise to me. You know how I feel about this Annalisa."

I freeze. Surely she is overreacting! Surely she can't be shunning me for one spell? I open my mouth to say something, anything, but no words come out.

"Get out," Peggy growls, "Get out of here Annalisa, or I'll owl your parents."

"I-I'm sorry." With that I pull my head out from the fireplace and stare at the flames before clenching my jaw against the burning in my eyes.

The tennis ball bounces against the wall and arcs back at me. I catch it and the same process is repeated. That ball has been consistently bouncing since my fire talk with Aunt Peggy. She was right, I'd broken my promise. It was unusual to think that anything like that would happen because I always keep my promises.

_'You messed up this time girly. You know that the only adult out of your relatives that you could trust was your Aunt Peggy, but you had to blab to her that you used a dark spell and now she isn't talking to you anymore!'_

_'But it was one spell! Why would she become so upset over that? One spell, and not even the worst one that you could have used!'_

_'Doesn't matter! And what do you mean it wasn't the worst you could have used? It is pretty up there!'_

_'But….'_

_'Nope, you screwed up! Now you have to pay up. Who's going to want to know a girl who is proving her family right? Who's going to want to be friends with a girl like that?'_

_'Sirius, Remus, James and Peter are still my friends!'_

_'But Peter jumped every time you spoke to him on the day that you left, and James couldn't look you in the eye!'_

_'Fine then, so they're having problems, but Sirius and Remus aren't.'_

_'Sirius is probably hiding what he's thinking and Remus doesn't know.'_

_'I won't be alone!'_

_'Think what you want, but they all leave you in the end.'_

I throw the tennis ball a little hard, "What do you know?"

Standing up, I head up the stairs and enter the training room. Grabbing one of the Katanas from the wall I practice my movements before pulling a lever on the wall. Sand bags appear out of nowhere and I stand in the center of them.

_"You're nothing! You'll never be anything!"_

_"What's wrong Annalisa? Can't take some of my magic?"_

_"You are so stupid, willful and a stain upon this family!"_

_"Get out of here Annalisa, or I'll owl your parents."_

I take in a deep breath and begin to attack the sandbags. Taking my anger and frustration out on something feels good. It feels good to just let go. It's odd though. After a few moments I stop feeling any sort of anger, and I just feel sort of…numb. Cold. I can see exactly where I have to move to hit the right spots, but I don't feel any strain of movement. There's only one way to describe how it feels. Attacking, being on the offensive, is becoming second nature.

I hear the door open and pull out my pocket knife, throwing it at the door. It sticks in the wood about an inch away from my father's cheek.

"You're form needs work, and you were too low."

I glance at him with cold eyes, "Actually I was off by an inch."

"Enough working with the bags, you'll fight against me until you can win."

I swallow, but don't show any sort of panic. In fact I don't feel anything. I've gone past the point of caring.

Father picks up a sword and stands opposite of me for a second before attacking me. I pull up my sword and block his attacks as well as I can. Clinks and clanks ring around the room and I feel alright about my defense, but that doesn't last long when he manages to hit me on the arm with the blade. I feel the steel cut in lightly and ignore it. I quickly thrust upwards and manage to hit him in the cheek with the blade.

"And that's what I had been aiming for," I growl.

"You insolent brat!" He swung his sword in a wide arch and the blunt side hit me on the head.

"Gerladim, please stop. We don't need her bloodied for the Christmas party tonight. Go make sure that Rowan has his dress robes on correctly, I wish to speak with her," mother says.

Father nods then departs, leaving the room silent as mother glances at me.

"You know, I always knew that you would be named protector of the family. Although it was not official until after your brother had been born, I always knew. I always expected you to be the perfect warrior, always loyal to the family," mother sighs, "However, it was not to be. You're too wild and willful. I don't know if I could trust you as protector now, but it is too late for either of your siblings to begin training."

"What are you saying mother?"

Mother comes close and breaths in my ear, "You'd better start acting properly or else your training sessions will seem like heaven compared to the punishment you will receive."

I don't say anything, but I can tell that she isn't joking. One thing that helps is that they never joke. Mother leaves and I place the sword in its sheath, and then follow her back into the hall and follow the long familiar path to my room.

I can't believe that I'm going to be forced to that bloody Christmas party. The only person who I will even want to see out of all the other families there is Sirius, and that's only if his parents let him go. Everyone else can stuff their heads in the punch bowl for all I care.

Sighing, I pull off what I am wearing and put on the dress robes that were picked out for me. Black silk robes with the family crest embroidered on the left side in a deep purple with silver accents. I also pull my hair back into a tight bun with my bangs hanging down. Placing my wand in my wrist holster I am now in full dress as the future alpha female of the family.

"Stupid traditions," I mutter as I ascend the stairs. As I walk into the kitchen, I see Rowan sitting on a stool by the counter with a large glass of milk. When he sees me he avoids my gaze and turns around so that his back is to me.

_'No, not Rowan too. They can't have gotten to him too.'_ My thoughts race and I try to think of what they could have done to make him want to avoid me so quickly. Could they have found out that I've been telling him about Hogwarts? That probably wouldn't make them force him to avoid me.

Frowning, I step behind Rowan and squeeze his shoulder before stepping back into the shadows thrown by the candles. Watching the kitchen, I wait for the rest of the group to show up so that we can leave.

Tessa comes in first and sweeps over to the fireplace and lights it. She turned seventeen a couple of days ago so she's all excited that she can use magic.

Father enters the room next. He's dressed up so that he looks the part of being the head of the family and I know that the only thing missing is mother hanging off of his arm.

Speak of the devil…mother enters and I have to stop myself from giving a small snort. Mother always gets dressed for these events and likes to pretend that she's just so demure around father. Anyone who knows the truth about our family knows that it's mother who makes the decisions and that it's father who carries them out.

"Where is Annalisa? If she's not up here in thirty seconds then you'll go get her," Mother tells father.

I step into some light, "I'm already here mother. Shall we leave?"

Mother glances my outfit over and then nods, "All is accounted for. Tessa I want you to take Rowan over to the Malfoy's, your father and I need to have a few words with Annalisa."

My head snaps up and I watch as Rowan steps into the fireplace with Tessa behind him.

"Malfoy Manor," Tessa drawls. A second later they're both gone in a flash of flame.

If I was in some type of movie this would be the point where either A) they tell me I can't go, but throw me into the basement after beating me first B) the cheesy horror music begins to play or C) I totally zone out and all the audience would hear are my thoughts and my parents going 'blah blah blah' in the background.

"Annalisa, we would like to talk with you about something really quickly. Have a seat."

Father pulls out a chair and I back up slightly.

"I'm good standing, thanks."

"Take. A. Seat," mother insists as she flicks her wand. There's a moment where it feels like I've been submerged in icy water, and then I can't do anything. My body moves on its own and I want to scream, but she won't let me.

"Now, we know how you have been acting at school, and we are going to tell you right now that it will not be tolerated anymore. You will start acting like a proper pureblood or you will regret it. Mark my words, you do not want to defy me."

Another flick of the wand and I'm released from the spell's hold. I take a deep breath and look up at her. Her face is smug and she's got an air about her that clearly states she thinks she's won. My eyes narrow and I stand slowly.

"Oh, Gerladim, be sure to remind her of what will happen if she misbehaves. I'm heading to the party." Mother turns and exits through the floo system.

I wait. Standing with my back to my father I wait. I keep my breathing calm and don't move my head, but my eyes turn to the right. I can't see him. A click sounds behind me, and a moment later I slam to my knees on the stone floor, my arm behind my back, and his arm around my neck.

"Listen to your mother and there won't be anything you have to worry about," he growls in my ear.

A quick movement and my cheek is sore and father is gone. I look up in time to see the flames die down. Now I have a choice. Go to the party, have a chance to see Sirius and talk with Rowan, or stay here away from all the people who are more than likely going to talk with my parents if they see me do something wrong.

"Might as well go let them know that I'm alive and haven't been stuffed in a suitcase," I mutter. Grabbing some floo powder, I throw it into the fire, call out my destination and watch as the kitchen disappears.

I close my eyes and count to five. I take a step forward and open my eyes. White marble and green and red lights meet my gaze and the low chatter of people talking greets me as well. Glancing around, I see Tessa speaking with Bellatrix and my parents speaking with the Notts. I frown and step into the shadows so that I can walk around the mansion without being interrupted. I see that most of the traditional pureblood families are here. The Malfoys (obviously), the Notts, the Blacks, the Lestranges, the Princes, the Averys, the Grimwoods (once again obviously) and all the other important people are here to socialize and talk with the few ministry officials. And by talk I mean bribe.

I look around a little more and see Rowan talking with Sirius. I shake my head and look at the kid. He's a little too short to be Sirius, his hair is a little too neat, and his face isn't as lean, but he looks almost exactly like him. What did Sirius say that his younger brother's name was? Regulus! That's right, their family uses celestial names as a tradition.

Shaking my head I smile and continue through the rooms. No one notices me and I melt through the crowds, moving towards the back of the mansion.

"Annalisa."

I spin around and see my Aunt Peggy standing in the door frame ten feet away from me. She's got her hair pulled up into a tight bun and she's wearing a dark blue dress.

"Aunt Peggy…I didn't know that you'd be here," I say.

"Well I decided that I ought to see how much you've turned into the rest of the family. If you've started using dark magic then it's only a matter of time until you finish becoming a Grimwood clone." Her voice is hard and cold.

"I'm not like them. I'm not even a Slytherin, so how could I be like them?" I ask.

Aunt Peggy's eyes narrow, "That's the first suspicious thing. How could a Grimwood end up in Gryffindor? So now the question is how long have you been using dark magic? My guess would be before you went to Hogwarts."

"Aunt Peggy…you can't honestly…how could you think that?" I ask.

"Well you are the family protector. It wouldn't be a stretch for you to fool me. Especially with all the magic that you know."

"But I wouldn't…!"

"Yes you would! You've proved that you're just like the rest of them." Aunt Peggy sneers at me, "You're just another Grimwood."

My heart clenches and I glare at her, "If that's true then what hope is there for _you_?"

Before she can say a word I stalk off and try to find a spot that is not too inhabited. I don't need to punch someone and have that bit of news reach my parents. I slip out the back door and walk down the lawn to a snow bank. I let out a breath and look up at the moon. It's in a waning crescent and will soon be a new moon.

"Losing your temper?"

I spin around and point my wand at the person behind me. When I see that it's Sirius my arm drops.

"Sorry, you kinda spooked me."

Sirius shrugs, "My fault. I should have coughed or something."

I shake my head and replace my wand.

"So what's go you so edgy?"

"Oh, my aunt, who I used to get along with really well, has decided that I am now becoming a 'Grimwood clone' and am not worth her time," I snarl.

There's a pause, "Umm…Ann? I don't know how to tell you this, but…you've grown ears."

"What?" I turn to Sirius.

He reaches up to the top of my head and pulls. I give a yelp and rub my ear as I realize what he's talking about.

"Don't pull them! They're attached!" I start rubbing them down, trying to either flatten them or get them to return to normal.

"You've got dog ears attached to your head?" Sirius asks. He sounds like he doesn't believe me.

"Yeah...how do I tell you this? I'm a natural animagus. I don't have control over it yet so whenever I get angered or whatever my…well it does this." I wave my hand at the ears as I begin to pace.

Sirius watches me walk back and forth for a couple of minutes before deciding that it would be more fun to throw snowballs up to the mansion and hit those people making out on the balcony. Luckily the two of us are standing in the dark and the couples can't see where the snowballs are coming from.

I reach up and feel my head. I breathe a sigh of relief when I can't feel my ears. Turning to Sirius, I am rewarded with a snowball flying at me. It smacks me right in the middle of the face and I stand stunned for a moment before reaching up and wiping the snow off. I glare at Sirius, who smirks at me, and reach down to the ground. At a leisurely pace I pack the snow into a ball and look at Sirius, who now has an eyebrow raised and looks like he's about to run.

"Five…"

Sirius laughs, "Really, a count down?"

"Four…"

"Come on Ann."

"Three…"

"Ok, this isn't funny."

"Two…"

"Ann?"

"One…"

He finally turns to run off, but it's too late. The snowball smacks him right in the back of the head. Sirius stiffens as the snow slowly slides off his hair and onto the ground. Turning around he picks up some snow and is about to throw it at me when someone clears their throat. We turn, snowballs in hand, to see Tessa watching us with a look of distain.

"You're both wanted. It's time to leave," Tessa informs us, then leaves.

I sigh, "Of course. I just get here, start having fun, and my oh so lovely parents decide that it's time to leave! Why me?"

"Hey it could be worse."

I think about what awaits me at home and shake my head, "No, it will be worse."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind. Let's just get inside, I feel like my nose is going to freeze off!" I change topic and head up toward the Malfoy manor. As I enter the door, I feel a blast of warm air and shiver once. Shaking my head, I continue over to where the fireplace is and glance around. Mother and Father are saying goodbye to the Blacks, with Tessa and Rowan off to the side. Sirius sneaks behind Regulus and pretends that he's been there the entire time.

I grab a bit of floo powder and go back to the house. When I arrive I glance around the room and gather some wood and matches, place them in the fireplace that isn't hooked up to the floo system, and light it to start warming up the house.

"Pillborn!" I call.

A crack sounds and the house elf appears.

"Yes madam?"

"Be ready for mother, father, Tessa and Rowan to arrive. They weren't at the party long enough for food, so they might be hungry. Also make sure to get any wet clothes when they arrive. Once they have changed take their dirty clothes into the laundry room. Understand?" I ask.

"Yes madam." The house elf then disappears with a small crack.

I glance at the fire behind me. I have a little time left until they arrive. I quickly cross the room and grab the table cloth. I flick it so that it falls onto the table gently. To the foyer to turn on the light. I shake my head and run back to the kitchen. Down the stairs to change my dress shirt. Button the last button. Back up the stairs. Close the door and stand off to the side of the fireplace. Refasten the cloak and stand there stoically.

The fireplace jumps to life and mother steps out. She glances in my direction before calling the house elf. She gives her the same orders that I had before they had arrived. She then turns back to me. A blink and I'm pinned against the wall. I can't move at all and I can only watch as mother comes close.

"Annalisa, I heard that you spoke with your Aunt…tell me…how is she doing?" mother asks.

Something clicks in my mind and I want to shout, but can't.

The fireplace turns green again, and a woman steps out. The one adult from my relatives who I had actually trusted smirks at me and wiggles her fingers my way.

"Hello Annalisa…having fun hanging around?" she laughs, and I want to throw one of the silver plates at her.

Tessa and Rowan enter the room and immediately leave, Rowan only glancing at me again as he leaves.

"So Annalisa, how're your morals holding up?" Aunt Peggy asks.

The left side of my face twitches into a smirk that beats all others, "Perfectly fine, thanks. Though tell me, what's it like to be two faced? I know it isn't helping you in the husband department, even with make up on both of them."

Aunt Peggy snarls, "Insolent little brat!"

My head snaps to the left as she smacks me. I can feel my face burn slightly at the hit, but I don't cry out. I turn back, my eyes cold.

"Forgive me if I don't weep out of shame," I drawl.

Mother looks at her sister, "Now you see what I've had to deal with. If you want to have some fun with her then you're welcome to her."

Aunt Peggy turns to me and sneers, "It would be my pleasure."

_'Oh crap this _might_ hurt.'_


	7. Back from Break

I hide my limp as I walk into Hogwarts. Never have I been so happy to see the castle. I head up the stairs and into the Gryffindor common room. People greet me and I smile and laugh. All these people are ok, but the ones that I missed are somewhere else at the moment, and I'll find them soon enough.

Setting my trunk down I note that Evans is, unfortunately, back too. I roll my eyes and leave the tower.

'If I were one of them where would I go? Wait I am one of them…too much vacation is not good for my mind.' I shake my head and go to the kitchens. Tickling the pear I stick my head in and smile at the sight of the four boys sitting at a table having a snack.

"HELLO BOYS!" I shout.

James and Peter jump because they didn't hear me enter, but Sirius and Remus, who were facing the door, laugh.

"Ann! So glad that you could join the party! Come take a seat!" Sirius smiles.

I sit at the table next to Remus, "So what's the plan?"

James pulls out a mini map that he had drawn of the great hall, "We need to make this so that it can show us the people who are entering and leaving the Great Hall."

"Well, there's defiantly a spell for it, but it is very advanced magic," Remus mutters.

"How advanced?" I ask.

Remus shrugs, "I'd say that it's defiantly a NEWT level charm, maybe higher."

"Well if there's anyone who can learn it well enough I'd say that's you." Sirius nods to Remus.

"Al-alright. So you've got all the people mapped out, but what about the ghosts and Peeves?" Peter asks.

"Good question. Will your spell map them out too, or will we need a different one for the…body-less individuals?" James asks.

"The spell tracks the magical energy of the person so it will track them no matter what. Invisibility cloak, animagus form, Polyjuice Potion, or whatever, none of them will be able to fool the spell. Spirits included," Remus explains.

"Good stuff," I nod.

"So when is the spell going to be done?" Sirius asks.

James shrugs, "Not sure, sometime at night obviously. I was thinking tonight at around one thirty."

Remus nods, "That's going to be fine, if you wanted something larger, like a wing of the castle, it would take longer."

"This is for some larger prank, so do you want to explain it to me or will I have to guess?" I ask.

Sirius rolls his eyes, "The only person who knows the entire prank is James, and he won't tell anyone."

"All in good time my friend. All in good time," James teases. He picks up a cookie and takes out a chunk, chewing with the utmost content.

Sirius huffs.

Peter looks a little put out, but he just shrugs and eats his cupcake.

Remus shakes his head and pulls out a book to read.

I wave my wand a couple of times and watch as my wolves run around on the table. Peter, of course, shifts away from them, and Remus glances up and then back down to his book.

"Peter what do you have against wolves?" I ask.

"I…I don't like them. They're scary, and they remind me of werewolves," Peter squeaks.

My eyebrows knit together and I frown slightly, "What's wrong with werewolves?"

"You're kidding right? They're dangerous, violent, and they are so blood thirsty," Peter says.

"That's not true," Sirius says, "Werewolves only change once a month. Other than that they can be normal. What would you say if one of the four of us was turned into a werewolf?"

Peter sputters, "But I know you! You wouldn't hurt me! Right?"

I sigh and roll my eyes, "Peter, you can't be prejudiced against a lycanthrope because they didn't choose to be a werewolf. It's like being prejudiced against muggle borns just because they're muggle born."

"But…"

"I think Ann is right on this one," Sirius says.

"And I think we should change the subject now," Remus instructs, not even looking up from his book.

I huff and wave my wolves away, "Fine."

Peter seems to sigh with relief and he starts on another cupcake.

Leaning back in my chair I twirl my wand in my fingers and look for something to do. From the corner of my eye I notice that Remus is slightly tense. Someone who doesn't know him too well probably wouldn't be able to tell, but I can see the slight stiffness to his shoulders. So something about the conversation made Remus tense. Muggle borns? I doubt it, Remus doesn't care what a witch or wizard is. Prejudice? Can't be, Remus is too mature to let that get to him. Werewolves? Maybe he knows one?

'Maybe you should pay attention to the conversation,' my conscious snaps.

"So how was your break Ann?" James asks.

_'Red alert! Change the subject!'_

I shrug, "Same as normal. Went home, was dragged to a couple of snooty pureblood parties and then came back here."

"Sounds like fun," James shakes his head, "I don't know how you two can stand being dragged to those things."

"Oh it's easy when you find a friend in the crowd and run off to start a snowball fight," Sirius smiles.

I laugh, "Yeah, it was nice to see you there too. But still, I would rather be here for break."

"Why do you go home then?" Peter asks.

"Rowan," I say, upon his confused look I clarify, "He's my little brother and the only member of my 'family' that I actually consider to be family, remember? It makes it sort of easier on him to have me home over the holidays because then the parents are a little less overbearing."

Peter and James nod while Sirius just tips the chair back onto two legs. I go back to looking at Remus and I notice that he once again looks really, really pale and sick. What's wrong with him, he seems to be getting sick every couple of weeks. Frowning I try to remember everything about Remus that I can.

As I put together the pieces I suddenly start to really dislike the puzzle, but I know that I'll keep working on it until I figure out what's wrong with Remus.

'He gets sick on a monthly basis, and I'm pretty sure that if you were to check on a calendar it would fall on the same day as a full moon.' I pause in my thinking, 'And silver hurts him.'

'How did that become figured out?'

I scoff at myself, 'Remember the first day on the train? He winced at the sight of the pendent.'

'And? Just being in proximity should have made him wince.'

'Maybe he has to see it. He could be a young wolf.'

'Remus Lupin is not a werewolf!'

'Look at the facts.'

I frown and think everything over again. Sighing I set my chair so that it's on all four legs again.

"I hate it when I'm right," I mutter as I stand.

"What did you say?" James asks.

I shake my head, "Don't worry about it."

Exiting the kitchens I walk along the hall and through one of the hidden passages. I arrive near the library and walk over to the entrance. Madam Prince isn't too happy with me since the last time I came in, but it isn't my fault that Tessa decided to follow and try to shove me on top of the shelves.

I enter the library and go to the back shelves. I don't know what I'm looking for, or if I'm even looking for anything, but I trail my fingers along one of the shelves. A book with red leather binding catches my eye and I pick it up and look it over. A crescent moon dominates the cover, and when I open the book I notice that the writing shimmers. It keeps changing between gold, black, and silver ink.

_"Come, read, learn. You know about what is not always there, but you don't know about what is always there."  
><em>  
>I look around trying to figure out who could've whispered to me, but I don't see anyone.<p>

_"Annalisa…"_

_'Damn that's creepy….'_ I shake my head and walk up to the counter and check the book out. As I leave the library I grab Remus's upper arm and drag him along with me.

"Hey! Ann let me go, I need to get something from the library!" Remus protests.

"The library will still be here later," I inform him. We enter an empty classroom and I turn to him, "I forgot to ask you how your mother is feeling."

Remus pales, "You know my mother died."

"Yep, twice this year, must be a miracle. What are you hiding Remus, and no bullshit either." I cross my arms and stare at him waiting.

_'Please let me be wrong.'_

Remus frowns, "You're only eleven, how come you use such vulgar language?"

"Because I can, though I'm actually twelve, and I hate people changing the subject."

"Why do you care about something like this?"

"Because you're my friend no matter what."

_'Please, let me be wrong….'_

Remus gives a dark chuckle, "Are you sure you'd want to be my friend knowing…knowing my darkest secret."

I blink, "It can't be worse than my family. Trust me, if we're going to be discussing skeletons in the closet then I believe I've got you beat."

"I don't doubt it when it comes to numbers, but my skeleton isn't exactly human."

_'Damn it! Please tell me you're joking. I don't want to be right.'_

"Care to explain yourself?" I ask. My face has gone into indifference, and I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Remus swallows and suddenly looks very vulnerable, "P-promise you won't tell anyone?"

"On my name."

"I'm not exactly human. I'm a…I'm a werewolf," Remus whispers.

_'DAMN IT! Why am I right?'_

"Is that all? Pssh! And here I was thinking that it was something that was worth worrying over." I lean against a desk and watch as Remus looks at me with wide eyes.

"You've got to be kidding me! Ann, I am one of the most dangerous creatures known to wizards!" Remus whisper shouts.

I want to laugh, but fear for Remus's sanity if I did stops me. I shake my head and walk over to the first year boy.

"Remus, werewolves are no big deal. You're normal for 352 days of the year, 353 if it's a leap year. Who cares about the other twelve days?" I ask.

"Umm, the other twelve days I turn into a monster."

"Eh, get a really strong leash. But seriously, just because you're a werewolf doesn't mean that you're a monster. I know about monsters. I live with them," I smirk. I try to make the situation lighter, but I can't tell if Remus wants that.

"How would you like another sword fighting lesson?" I ask. Change the subject, and take his mind off of it.

Remus looks up, "Are you kidding? I'd love one!"

I nod and move the furniture out of the way. I grab a couple of Knuts from my pocket and turn them into Katanas.

"This is a Katana. It's a traditional sword from Japan that Samurai used all the time. I prefer this to European swords because it offers a sharper blade and an easier cut," I explain, "They're still wooden because I don't want Madam Pomfrey after my blood."

Remus nods and takes the offered Katana, "This feels better than the rapier. It feels like an extension of my arm."

I smile and nod, "That's what you want. It makes it easier to use the sword, plus that means that it's properly balanced. Take some time to warm up."

I step to the other side of the room, sit on a desk, place the sword in my lap, and close my eyes. I can hear Remus practicing some old moves, and I hear the people out in the hall. It's a good thing that we're still on break or else we probably would have been screwed. A light breeze hits my right cheek, but I keep still. Five o'clock. By the window. Ten and a half feet.

Grabbing the hilt, I use my feet to propel myself backwards and flip in the air, landing behind Remus. He manages to bring his blade back in time and we start to spar.

"That would have worked if you hadn't stirred the air and if you were fighting someone with a little less experience," I tell him. I duck a swing and aim one for his knees, knowing that he'll jump it.

Remus jumps and aims for my right shoulder, "Really? And here I thought that it was a poor attempt."

"Well compared to what I think you can do, it was." I growl, "Come on Remus! I know you're better than this! Now stop trying to beat me, and actually beat me!"

"I can only try!"

I snarl and go full out. Three moves later I've got Remus pinned to the wall with his sword across the room. Remus swallows and looks at me.

"That's bull and you know it," I growl.

Remus's eyes narrow and he gives me a shove backwards. He actually makes me unstable so I do a couple of flips backwards. When I'm standing again, he's not within my sight, but I can tell he's in the room. I close my eyes and concentrate. And though he doesn't make a sound I can tell where he moves.

"There you go, now do better, and stop going past the window so many times. You're throwing a shadow," I tell him. A pause and I spin to face my right as I duck, making my sword follow in a nice arc.

Remus is silent as he picks up the tempo of his hits. He's attacking quickly, but he's becoming too wild with his sword, leaving his body wide open for a hit. I narrow my eyes and knock him with the flat side of my blade a couple of times until he learns to control his swings more.

As the tempo picks up we both are defending and attacking quickly, evading the other person's attacks while pushing our own.

Finally we stop. Both of us are slightly breathless and are at opposite ends of the room. I stand up smiling.

"Not bad, you've got to learn to trust yourself though," I comment.

"How come you know so much about this?" Remus asks.

"Come on, I've been at this since I was five."

"But that doesn't always mean that you'd be good at it. I mean how did you get so good?"

I look up, "I was pretty much forced to learn or die. Plus I have a…a natural talent for it."

Remus opens his mouth, but then closes it and nods.

"So do you think you'll use a rapier or a katana?" I ask.

"Katana. It's easier, and it feels better," Remus states immediately.

I nod and move the furniture back into the proper positions. Grabbing my bag I place my right arm on Remus's shoulders and steer him out of the room.

"You're good but you need to practice a little more, and like I said just trust yourself," I tell him, smiling with a spring in my step.

Remus sighs and shakes his head, "You know I don't get how you can go from being ultra serious to really hyper and happy go lucky within point three seconds."

"A talent I guess. And no I'm not bipolar," I smirk.

Remus laughs, "I never thought you were."

We turn the corner and run into James, Sirius and Peter. The three boys look at the two of us, and after a moment I laugh. The looks on their faces is hilarious.

"We were hoping to run into you two, but we didn't mean to literally run into you," Sirius smirks.

"Well that's too bad for you. Now what do you need?" Remus asks.

James tilts his head, "Who said we wanted something?"

I roll my eyes, "Nothing had to be said. It's easy to tell in your eyes. Now spill."

"Ok, fine. Remus we really need that spell ready for tonight. Ann, a little birdie told me that you know some ways to take care of poltergeists and other things that go bump in the night," James says.

My eyes narrow and I turn to Sirius, who has suddenly become very interested in the cuff of his right sleeve.

"I don't know about how credible that birdie is. He seems more like a dog to me," I tease, "But what do you want me to do?"

"Keep anyone and everyone away from the Great Hall tonight. Got it?" James asks.

I think about what I have in my trunk and nod, "No problemo."

Sirius throws his arm over James's shoulders, "Can we go have some fun? I am bored!"

I follow them laughing when Sirius pulls the back of Peter's cloak over his head.

_I ran down the hall and found that all the rooms I past are completely empty. It's cold and damp, and I feel like I've lost everything. I arrive at the end of the hall and open a heavy oak door. As the door swings silently open I wish that someone was here to make some noise. Sirius or Remus or James or Peter. Heck even Evans would be welcome. The door is open all the way and when I step into the room it just disappears. Turning back to the center of the room I step back my eyes widening._

_The boys, though they appear older, are in the center of the room bloody and covered in cuts and bruises._

_Remus is sort of swaying back and forth on a noose, blood running out of cuts on his face, and his shirt is ripped in a couple of places._

_James looks like someone took a huge rock and hit him on the head with it repeatedly. His arm is bent at an odd angle. His glasses are broken, yet remain on his nose._

_Peter's whole head has been turned around so that it's facing the wrong way, and his stomach has been ripped apart by an animal, the entrails falling out along with blood._

_Sirius, though, is nearly normal. He has a few cuts, more bruises than the others, but his neck has a perfect red line over it, going through the jugular._

_A shadow moving alerts me that something else is in the room. I face it and see myself. Like the other four I'm aged, but that's not what completely scares me. It's the cold emptiness in my eyes, the way there's no emotion whatsoever to be found. I take a step back, but she grabs me by my collar and slams me against the wall._

_Fighting I grab her neck and start to squeeze, but she disappears in a cloud of grey smoke. I look around trying to find myself and that's when I realize the smoke is swirling at the floor. My eyes widen as it forms into the shape it had been then it steps into me._

_Something warm trickles down my arm, and upon looking down I wish to scream. My arm is completely scarlet, and I hold a bloodied knife in my hand._

"Ann!"

I shoot up and almost hit Remus in the head, "Huh? What?"

"Ann, wake up, you were having a bad dream," Remus says.

I place my hand on my forehead and close my eyes, slumping back in the armchair in the common room.

"I didn't scream or anything did I?" I ask.

Remus sighs, "No, but you turned really pale, and started twitching."

I look up at the clock. I have three minutes to be ready for distracting the inhabitants of Hogwarts that roam at night, namely the ghosts, Peeves, Filch and Mrs. Norris. I get out of the armchair and enter the girl's dorms. When I reach my room I hear someone sniffling and I tense up. One of the girls is crying. I don't know how to handle a crying girl, but I need my supplies. Exhaling I enter the room and head to my bed without looking, but I can tell that it's Evans.

She sniffles once more and looks up, "Oh, it's you."

"No need to sound so chipper. Just ignore me like usual, and we can go our separate ways without incident," I say, opening my trunk.

"I always knew you were heartless. A crying girl and you don't ask her what's wrong," Lily snips.

I pause, "Heartless? You don't even know what heartless is."

"Well you imitate it very well! The other girls could be crying because their pet died and you laugh!" Lily shouts.

"If you think that's heartless then you know nothing. Trust me, I would seem warm and cuddly compared to others," I growl, then continue to get my items. When I'm done I pause at the door, "Lily?"

"What?" her voice is muffled by her pillow.

"Whatever it is will be alright." I descend the stairs and continue through the common room. I'm lucky that I can walk by without being noticed, or else it might have been hard to leave on time.

I'm still amazed at how, even though we're only first years that we can plan some pretty good pranks. It's not like we study like crazy, well other than Remus, but he doesn't have to study, but does anyway, we're all just really good at magic. Heck even Peter, who isn't the best at wand magic is pretty awesome at Herbology and History of Magic. Sirius is better at Potions, when he isn't experimenting, and at counter jinxes. James is the all around Transfiguration expert, and he's pretty good at Arithmancy, which is odd seeing as that it's a third year class, but he helped out a couple of the older kids. Remus is exceptional in everything, with the main focus being DADA and Healing spells. I'm the best at Charms and Astrology. I'm also the only person out of the four of us to befriend Peeves.

I arrive at the Great Hall and look around. It's completely empty and all but the corner candles are out.

"Peeves, come out come out where ever you are," I call. Setting my bag on the Gryffindor table I look around the room for the chaos causing poltergeist.

"Firsty Grimsey looking for me?"

I look around trying to locate the poltergeist, but he was apparently invisible. Smirking I flick my wand and a snowfall of confetti comes from the rafters, showing where Peeves is located.

"Come on Peeves, stop playing games with me. I need you to distract Filch and everyone else tonight so that we can have some time," I inform him.

Peeves seems to think about what I have told him for a moment before nodding, "Alright, but only because I know you'll come up with something good."

I watch as Peeves flies out of the Great Hall and a minute later I hear a crash a couple of floors above me. Shaking my head I move to my bag and get to work. The boys would be arriving in five minutes, but the main parts of the spells have to be laid before they arrive. I grab a book from my bag and flip it open to a marked page. Muttering under my breath I mimic the wand movements with an empty hand then nod. Pulling my wand from my wand holder I start on the spells.

Five minutes later I can hear the boys entering the Great Hall.

"Ann? You here?" James calls.

"Yeah," I reply.

"Where are you?" Remus asks.

"Look up."

"What the…better yet, how the hell did you get up there?" Sirius calls.

I smirk at him from the rafters and point at the rope that's tied around the beam I'm on.  
>"Well, now that we've got her up there how about we get started on the rest of this prank?" James asks.<p>

"I'll watch the map. I can't do any of these spells," Peter mutters, "By the way Remus, this is a really good map."

"Thanks, but I didn't draw it, that was Sirius," Remus explains as he begins to charm the tables.

"Woah, Sirius drew this?" Peter asks incredulous.

"Why does it seem so odd that I can be good at drawing?" Sirius huffs.

"Because you seem more like you would be good at something less artsy," I explain as I hang from a rafter.

"This is nice and all, but can we get this project done?" James asks.

I smile and tap the wooden beam above me. I hope Professor Dumbledore doesn't mind a little remodeling.

**AN/ Hi! Ok, so I'm going to explain the birthdays, because if I don't then some people might get confused. Ann was born on November 13th, 1959. Sirius was born on October 31, 1959 (Yes, I'm a bitch. I always thought that it would be especially horrid to have his birthday on Halloween, hence why I like it so much.). Remus Lupin was March 10, 1960. James Potter was March 27, 1960. Peter Pettigrew was June 23, 1960. Remus and James's DOB are from HP Lexicon, which is a fantastic site for all HP fans. Believe it or not, yes, their birth dates come into play, and helps space things out. Thank you for reading.**


	8. Funeral

The next morning everyone is staring at the walls, ceiling, floor, benches and tables. They are looking at the plates, silverware, the goblets and hourglasses. Basically anything that is in the Great Hall is worth looking at. The walls are flashing rainbows and the tables and benches are bright pink and purple. The ceiling and floor look like they have been flipped and the hourglasses are randomly adding and subtracting points from all the houses. The ceiling, which looks like the floor, also has random plants and other things hanging from it.

"You know I think the best part of this prank is the people," Sirius says, a smirk on his face that is extremely contagious.

I smile as I look around at everyone. People who ate the banana nut muffins are sporting neon pink hair. Those who ate blueberry pancakes have pastel green hair. Anyone who ate waffles, myself included, have punk purple hair. If you ate bacon you had black lowlights added, while strawberries gave blonde highlights. Therefore if someone eats waffles with bacon they would have punk purple hair with black lowlights, while someone with banana nut muffins and strawberries would have neon pink hair with blonde highlights.

I smirk at James, who had eaten said muffins and berries. Peter has pastel green hair with both highlights and lowlights in it. Remus's hair is pretty much normal, except for the lowlights, because he isn't eating very much. Sirius has made it so that he has purple highlights just because of how much bacon he had.

"I can't believe that this is actually working," Remus whispers.

James looks up at the teachers table and starts laughing. When the rest of us look we see Professor McGonagall with neon pink and punk purple hair with black lowlights. Professor Dumbledore has pastel green hair with blonde highlights.

"How long is this supposed to last again?" Peter moans.

"Till tomorrow morning, remember that we charmed it so that at lunch our eye color would change and that at dinner our ears," James reminds him.

"Why change a person's ears? Why not something else?" Remus asks.

"Because ears are often overlooked and I wanted to give them some attention," James explains.

"Ok, then." I'm holding back a snigger as I say that and then turn back to my breakfast.

Sirius sighs and looks around to try and find something to do, "I know I am the last person who should be saying this, but can we go to class or something? I'm too bored to stay here longer."

I'm about to agree when the family owl lands in front of me. I take the letter from the owl and have to quickly snatch my hand away before the owl can bite me. Frowning, I open the letter and groan when I see my mother's script.

_Annalisa,  
>You are to come home for the rest of the week. Grandfather Legarious has passed and we will be having the wake and funeral this weekend. Arrive at home by Floo and bring some respectable clothing to wear. We will be buying robes for the wake and funeral later. No loitering about Hogwarts, return instantaneously.<br>Mother_

I sigh at the letter then stand up and look at the head table. There is no way for me to get out of this, but I really don't want to bother Professor McGonagall at the moment.

"What is it?" Remus asks.

"You might not want to ask. That's paper that is only used for official family matters," at the odd looks Sirius continues, "You can tell by the thickness and how the paper has a watermark of the family crest. Also how calligraphy was used to write it rather than regular penmanship."

I frown, "I really have to go, excuse me."

The four boys look up at me curiously at the polite whisper and Remus and Sirius frown then turn to each other. Though Sirius and James are closer, Remus and Sirius are pretty close too so they can interpret each other's thoughts accurately.

Shaking my head, I step up to the head table in front of Professor McGonagall. I'm about to open my mouth when she looks up.

"Yes Miss Grimwood?" she asks.

"I have to go to my house for the rest of the week," I tell her quietly. Before she has a chance to object or otherwise ask me why I show her the letter. She quickly reads it and nods.

"Very well. Come with me so that you can retrieve your things then head home. I expect that your sister has already been informed?" She's taking long strides so we are soon out of the Great Hall and on the entrance stairs.

"Not until Friday," I mutter. It takes me a moment to realize that McGonagall isn't escorting me up the stairs. When I turn around she is looking at me with raised eyebrows.

"And why is your sister not going to be notified until this Friday?" the professor asks.

I pause, not entirely sure if I could tell her, "It's tradition that the Protector, or future head of the family I guess you could call it, arrives at the manor and helps with the preparations of the wake and funeral. The preparations usually take about five days or so."

"And you are the…protector?"

"Yes."

McGonagall seems to be floored by this, "But you're only a first year. What could you do to protect your family?"

"I've been trained for this since I was five, and have been learning about magic since I was three," I look up eyes cold, "I think I can handle it."

McGonagall's mouth presses into a fine line, but she doesn't press it any further. She starts up the stairs once more and continues up to Gryffindor tower silently. It's time like these that I really wish that I could read people's body language better. If I had Remus with me he could help me, but I don't so I have to guess that she's processing what she has learned.

"_Pride_." McGonagall opens the portrait and motions me to go ahead of her.

I move across the common room and then up the stairs and into the first year girl's dorm. I open my trunk and find my better looking clothing. All of my perfect formal clothing is at the house. I finish packing everything into a small bag and then descend the stairs. When I reach the bottom McGonagall seems to be rather impatient.

"Very well, follow me."

I sigh and proceed to do as she directs. I don't know what she thinks about my standing in my family, but I hope that she doesn't start to look into it too much. I look around when we reach her office. I've been in it already, but it's still rather interesting. The walls are lined with books and there is a nice mahogany desk in the center of the room. There are also quite a few cages with different animals in them.

McGonagall motioned to the fireplace and I stepped in it with the green Floo powder. Throwing it down and calling out for the house I say one last look of my professor's face. The expression on it confused me, because it seemed almost like pity.

I arrive at the house and almost immediately hear my mother's cold voice. Luckily she hasn't greeted me with a hit this time.

"You're to go straight up to the library and read over the books that I have set out for you. They are on the different spells and procedures that will occur during the funeral and wake. I expect them to be memorized by this evening," she informs me. She doesn't need to add on the 'Or else…' I know that it's tacked on by the way her words are said.

I drop my bag and head up to the appropriate room of the house. I enter and sit down to read the books. Unfortunately they are terribly dull and I soon find myself paying more attention to my little brother, who is hiding behind a bookcase, than to what I'm supposed to be doing.

"Alright Kiddo, come on out." I lean on the back two legs and grin at Rowan as he steps out of his hiding spot.

"What's with the new hair color?" Rowan asks.

I glance at a group of hairs that have fallen into my line of sight. When I see that they're still punk purple I grin.

"Prank my friends and I started. To be honest I'm going to miss not being able to see the rest of it. Sirius will probably get a photo for me though," I muse.

"If you made it so that there were purple streaks in your hair and the tips were purple it would look better. Since you're eyes flash violet when your emotions are completely out of your control and are only streaked the rest of the time this doesn't look like it matches too well," Rowan explains.

"Since when have you become an expert at hair?"

"Since mother started making me watch all her shows." Rowan grimaces at the thought then looks at the books on the table, "Aren't you supposed to be reading this for the funeral? I heard mother say that you were to be tested on it later."

"Yeah, well, they aren't going to be doing too much "damage control" with relatives and god knows who else arriving so soon," I mutter.

"Actually I think that she might get one of the house elves to do it. She was discussing it with father before you arrived," Rowan says.

I sigh and rub my hand over my eyes, "Great. Now I have to study this crap."

Rowan chuckles, "Shouldn't you be watching your language around your very corruptible little brother?"

"If you're corrupted to be like me," I smirk, "I don't see the problem."

"You wouldn't." Rowan shakes his head with a grin on his face before sitting at the table and pulling out his own book to read.

Sighing I pull the book closer to myself and start to read it again.

_The family has always done the encasement charm on its family members whom are extremely important. Heads of the family, protectors, and others whom held great responsibility in the Grimwood family are always given this highest honor._

_"You wish that you were like the rest of us. Too bad that you could never give your family any honor."  
><em>_  
><em>I shake my head and refocus.

_The encasing is like the darkest of onyx, while an arrangement of garnet gems are cast in the top, or lid, of the encasing. The arrangement has to deal with the rank in the family of that person as well as their magical ability._

_"We know that she's powerful, she'll make a great Grimwood someday." "Damn it Gerladim! Why hasn't anything come into the proper plans?" "Don't worry they will. She's powerful, and I can tell that she has some sort of edge that's useful in darker magics. Just give her a moment to run out of this phase."  
><em>  
>I run a hand through my hair and I can tell that I'm not going to be able to get this done if these images keep popping up in my mind.<p>

"Ann? Ann are you alright?"

I look up at Rowan and notice that he's watching me with concern in his eyes. I smile and nod, I can tell that he doesn't completely believe me, but he goes back to reading his book.

_'What the hell is going on with me?'_ I wonder.

_There are differences in the type of garnet that appear on the encasing. Part deals with the caster, and part deals with the body it is being cast upon. The darker the gem upon the encasement the stronger the caster. Each encasement is different, yet they are entirely uniform._

_"She doesn't fit! Gerladim, we are losing our chance at making the Grimwoods great. We need to gain control of her again." "Don't worry Celestra, we will. She'll only be able to take so much pressure. Plus she has practically been drowned in the magic of our ancestors since birth. I'm quite afraid that one day she will surpass even me." "I hope you're right about her coming to the family." "I am."_

I shake my head before shutting the book and rubbing my temples, "Rowan is father home at the moment?"

"Not that I am aware of. Last time I knew he had to go to the ministry for some important meeting, or something like that," Rowan says.

'_Then what the hell is going on?'_ I frown before shaking my head and diving back into my reading, which is really boring and leaves me actually wishing that I was back at school so that I could play some pranks to relieve some stress.

When I finish reading about the encasement spell I mutter it under my breath and practice the wand motions with a quill in my hand. After a couple of moments I'm sure that I have the motions down and look at all the other books that they want me to read.

"Why do I have to read all of these? Isn't father going to do most of this since he's the head of the house?" I mutter.

Rowan shrugs, "I'm not sure. I thought that you would only be there for show. You know like a proof as to what the future of the Grimwood family is supposed to be."

I snort, "In that case they would probably prefer to show Tessa. I am the complete opposite of what mother and father want this family to become."

"Well, personally I think that you'll bring this family out of its hollow shell better than anyone else."

"At least I can have my brother at my side to help me with that. To pull us out of this dark pit, we'd need more than a _lumos maximus_," I grin.

Rowan shakes his head and is about to respond when a house elf appears.

"Mistress Annalisa is to report to her mother in the lounge to go shopping for the proper clothing for the events later this week," the elf squeaks before disappearing again.

I watch where the elf had been for a moment before turning back to Rowan, "Well that's just great. Are you sure that you don't want to trade positions and go shopping for me?"

"I wouldn't do that if I was paid all the money in the world."

I laugh, "Gee, thanks! Some brother you are!"

"Love you too sis." Rowan doesn't look up from his book, but I can see his smirk.

Rolling my eyes, I quickly grab a cloak and enter the lounge.

"Wipe that smirk from your face, and hold yourself like a proper Grimwood!" mother snaps.

I instantly shut down all emotion and stand straighter. I give a bow to her, but apparently hadn't been fast enough because she flicks her wand and I can feel a slight burning against the base of my head. It's not like she's set fire to it, but it's like someone has smacked my head really hard.

"Come with me, and I expect your best behavior." Mother exits the house via Floo, and I can do little but follow her.

I tumble out of the fireplace and quickly scramble out of the way, and it's a good thing too because a moment later, my mother steps out and is looking furious.

"How dare you beseech the name Grimwood like you have? It's bad enough that you're Gryffindor scum! Must you attempt to act like a mudblood as well?" her voice turning to a screech.

I scramble back as fast as I can, trying to become as small as possible. I have _never_seen mother this angry before, and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that father is not here.

She sneers at me for a moment, "Pillborn!"

The elf appears with a crack and bows deeply, "Yes mistress?"

"Pillborn, you are to discipline Annalisa as you were told earlier. Fifty for now should do."

As she leaves my eyes widen. Surely she doesn't mean for Pillborn to use an elvin whip? Since it's magic it leaves no mark, yet it supposedly hurts worse than a normal muggle whip.

Pillborn looks at me for a moment before shrugging and then snapping her fingers. I'm pulled up to a standing position and turned around, and I can't seem to stop anything. I struggle slightly, but hear a crack right next to my ear and stiffen. A moment later Pillborn begins and I soon taste blood in my mouth from trying not to scream.

_I run along one of the corridors of Hogwarts and it's practically empty of people. I see a group of people and smile when I recognize them. As I approach Remus turns around and nudges the others._

_"Well, well, look who it is. A bloody traitor," James sneers._

_I look at him surprised and shake my head, "What are you talking about?"_

_"Oh, let me think, maybe the fact that you have used dark magic, are a member of one of the darkest families to exist in the Wizarding world, and are the future head of that family," James lists, "I'm trying to remember why I'm friends with you again."_

_He turns around and leaves. I turn to the others but see that Peter's taken a step away from me as well, "There's what James said, plus the fact that you scare me like crazy." With that he takes off down the hall._

_"Sirius, Remus, what…what's going on?"_

_Remus shakes his head, "I'm sorry. I have too much going on to try and be your friend. Hey, being a werewolf going to school and trying to keep it from everyone isn't the easiest thing to do. I don't need you here to make anything even worse."_

_I watch as Remus leaves and close my eyes, "Sirius please tell me that you won't leave!"_

_"I thought you were different."_

_I don't have to watch him leave. I can tell, because once he's gone I've lost all my friends. Other than Rowan I've lost everyone, but when I open my eyes it's to see my brother sneering at me as he chases after my friends. Looking behind me I see mother and father nodding their approval. When I look down at my clothing I see that the family crest is on my robes._

The funeral is rather uneventful. I cast the charm and watch as my grandfather is placed in an onyx tomb with darkly colored garnets. That seems to please mother and father so I can go to my room immediately after the burial.

"That was impressive Annalisa."

I shoot up from my lounging position on my bed and look at my father with wide eyes.

"Don't stand, I know how tired you are." His left hand is held up in a sign for 'stop'. He looks at me for a moment before nodding, "If you continue like this then you'll make a fine Grimwood. I have never told you this, but that is because I need to push you. You're strong, but you can be so much stronger if you would embrace the magic that flows through your veins. I know that you've been holding out for some reason. I want you to let that reason go. You are a Grimwood, accept it. Magic like you did tonight will seem simple as levitation once you let go."

I feel shock at his low voice. It's soft and I haven't heard it like this since I was four. I know that he feels pride, and for some reason that makes me happy, and the fact that I feel happy makes me want to hex myself. This is my family, drenched in dark magic and I should feel revolted that something they have said makes me feel happy. I should be upset that I've made him proud. But…he's my father.

"I'll leave you to rest. Rest my Annalisa, my darling."

After he leaves I lay my head on my pillow confused. I know why they're happy, and I know that if I made them happy it would make my life easier, but I know that I could never do that. To act like them would to go against my morals, yet to feel like my father was proud of me…are my morals worth it?


	9. End of First Year

I arrive back at school the following Monday and my mind is still playing tricks on me. If I start acting like a traditional Grimwood then my parents would start to be proud of me, and the training would stop. But I would also lose my friends and would be giving up all my morals.

"Ann, are you alright?"

I look up startled and see Remus and Sirius watching me. We're in the Great Hall for breakfast and I have apparently been staring off into space for the last five minutes.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just…elsewhere." I shake my head and smile at them.

Remus nods, while Sirius doesn't seem convinced. I know he'll figure it out if I stay here longer, so I give an excuse and leave.

Walking along a fourth floor corridor, I wonder about what would have happened if I'd been sorted into Slytherin.

"It wouldn't have done you any good."

I jump and spin around. Sirius is standing up against a pillar, but he's looking out one of the windows.

"I've thought about the same thing, but trust me. It wouldn't have helped any," he looks at me, "We're too Gryffindor for Slytherin."

I snort, "Yes, but we don't quite fit in here either. I guess that we're too Slytherin for Gryffindor. Besides how did you know where to find me?"

Sirius smiles and pushes off of the pillar, "Easy, I know where I would go if I want to think, so I figured all I have to do is stand still somewhere and you'd find me."

"Ok, then how do you know what I'm thinking about? We might be alike but it's not like James and you," I point out.

"Well, that would be because I've thought about the same thing at least once a month since the start of school." Sirius shrugs, "I'd rather be in Gryffindor and have a choice than be in Slytherin and have none."

I step back and raise an eyebrow, "That was rather intelligent. Who are you and what have you done with Sirius?"

Sirius lets out a bark of laughter, "I've been around Remus too much. He's rubbing off on me."

"Alright, then wise guy." I start walking again and Sirius falls in line next to me.

"Come on, Think about it. What would making your parents happy do for you?"

I freeze as my mind whirls. Images of Tessa, my aunt, and my parents flew through my head. I remember their looks, cold and calculating. I then remember the way they treated me after finding out that I had been sorted into Gryffindor. I then remember the evening before Christmas break. I'd acted like one of them.

"Ann?"

I look up with a grin on my face, "How about we go sabotage something? I'm in the mood for explosions."

Sirius laughs, "That's what I'm talking about!"

As we take off running my thoughts nag at me.

_'Liar. What are you trying to prove?'_

I am surprised. That's a feat, especially with as well as I know the boys. If you had asked me at the beginning of the term who would be the one to be fretting over exams I would have told you Remus. He's always been the studier out of our group. If you had told me Peter I would have laughed and said that you'd hit your head on a brick wall one too many times. But as it is, Peter has been driving us all insane by consistently asking us questions concerning the school work. It had gotten so bad that we all had taken to saying 'Shut up Peter' every other sentence, and Peter had been charmed so that his lips had been sewn together after dinner one evening.

My eye twitches in annoyance as Peter begins to ask questions again.

"Pete, shut up mate, Ann is about to hex your lips sewn shut again," James warns.

Peter shakes his head, "But I have to learn this! Remus, can you help me with this?"

Remus sighs and looks at what Peter is pointing at, "Peter, this is charms. You know who is better at that than I am."

Peter looks at me hopefully.

"Don't. Even. _Think_. About. It!" I growl.

Peter gives a wail and starts to bang his head on the table.

I watch with slight boredom as Remus's face twitches in annoyance, and three seconds later, Peter is floating in the air above the table with Remus pointing his wand at the boy.

"That's it! Peter stop it, you are driving all of us mad!" Remus yells.

"Wow, I think Remus has finally lost it," Sirius observes. He's sitting upside down on the recliner, with his legs resting on the back and his head hanging off the front cushion.

"I'm amazed that Remus has lasted this long," I drawl.

James sits up, "I've noticed something. Whenever you're annoyed your voice gets all pureblood-ish on us."

I shrug, "Natural habit."

The three of us turn back to watching Remus yell at Peter, who, by now, is sporting pink hair with clothing that has been transfigured to sixteenth century style, and a neon green bow in his hair.

"Now will you shut up about the stupid finals?" Remus asks.

Peter, who's eyes are wide and slightly glassy, nods quickly. When he hits the floor again he takes off running from the common room and into the boys dorm.

"Now Remus," James frowns, "Was that necessary? I mean, he might have been annoying, but you didn't have to do that."

"Oh, like you're one to talk! You do the same thing to the Slytherins!" Remus huffs before stalking out of the common room through the portrait hole.

James and Sirius look like they're about to go after him when I stand shaking my head, "Let me deal with it. You two go take care of Peter."

They nod, and I take off at a brisk jog to catch up with Remus. It isn't often that he loses his temper, but when he does…well, let's just say that it normally isn't pretty. Especially when one considers that Remus is a pretty even tempered guy. I've only seen him lose it once, and that was when James and Sirius had accidentally made his charms book disappear. Even then he had only yelled at them, then had gone to an upperclassmen who summoned the book.

I continue down the hall, not knowing where Remus had gone, and not wanting to turn my nose into the snout of a dog, or wolf, or whatever, and chance another student seeing and freaking out. Instead I find myself thinking about Remus's favorite places and tracing my steps from there. Unfortunately I run into Snape.

"So what are you looking for Grimwood? Your sanity?" he drawls, trying to get me to lose my temper.

"Lost that a while ago, not going to bother looking for it," I reply as I scan the library for Remus.

"Well maybe your brain then? Or are you looking for one of your idiotic friends?"

"Shut up Sevvy," I say. He's staring at me like I'm crazy, and probably wondering where 'Sevvy' had come from, as I run out of the library in look of Remus. I frown as I descend the stairs and walk over to the large oak tree that Remus likes to sit under. I don't see him anywhere and am about to leave when I hear a rustle above me. Looking up, I see Remus looking down at me with somewhat worried eyes. I glance around at the lower branches before frowning. None are low enough to grab, unless…. I take a couple of steps back, run at the tree, then use the trunk to propel myself up. From there it's easy to reach Remus.

"So why'd you go poof?" I ask.

Remus frowns, "Because I hexed Pete. Then yelled at James."

"And? I've hexed and yelled at plenty of people before. Hell, I've yelled at and hexed James and Sirius at the same time. They still talk to me," I shrug.

"Yeah, but that's expected from you. You tend to lose your temper with people, plus you are…well you," Remus mutters.

I roll my eyes, "Don't worry, they know that you can only take so much. You have remarkable patience, but even you can't take on the world alone. Plus think of it this way, if they want to treat this like a big deal then they're hypocrites, and I'll be more than happy to hex them for you."

Remus nods slowly, "Alright let's go."

I hop down from the branch I'm on, then wait for Remus and we enter the school.

_Screaming, panic, worry, terror, blood…death. I shake my head and suddenly I see the Ministry. Everyone though is running around in a panic, and I can't see anything that looks off. After a moment though everything becomes painfully clear. The wizards in the black robes and masks. The Aurors rushing to them to try and buy time for those trying to escape. The bodies lying on the floor, dying the white marble crimson_

I look at Hogsmead as we board the train. For some reason I have a feeling of unease. I know that it's not because we're leaving for summer holidays, but something unknown. It's as if my subconscious is telling me that I am missing something important.

I see Sirius doing the same thing I am, "You feel it too?"

"Like I'm missing something that is really important? Yeah," Sirius mutters, then shakes his head and boards the train. I follow him to the compartment that James and Peter and Remus are already sitting in. We all settle down and watch the scenery for the first couple of moments. Finally James breaks the silence and the boys start to play snap. I watch and smile when the deck explodes.

"Blast! Remus how did you manage to win again?" James asks.

Remus smiles, "Good reflexes."

Sirius wipes the soot from his robe and grins, "Who wants to play again?"

The four of them start another round and I pull out my drawing supplies and start to sketch the scene in front of me. Something is nagging at me, telling me that there would be few years left, and that peaceful moments like this would be few and far between.

Flipping away from the red light I start a rapid scanning of the room for something to use as a weapon. Father has changed the training room since I was last in here, and I am still trying to become used to it.

_BOOM!_

I ignore the urge to clasp my hands to my ears and just start to climb up the cargo net as quickly as possible. Spells, hexes, curses and just about everything else that my father could throw at me hit the net around me as I scrambled around. I never stayed in a straight line, but was also continuously moving up at a steady pace.

"Are you going to keep running Annalisa? Prove you can fight!" father yells, "Or are you going to prove that all Gryffindors are cowards?"

I snarl at his accusation, but I keep climbing, then throw myself over the ledge and behind a barrier. I take a couple of quick breaths before standing and sprinting over to a hall with a hanging lantern in it. I have to use all my speed to keep ahead of the spells, and then to jump high enough to grab the chain that the lantern is on.

_'Come on, send a spell at me. Come on, aim for my chest._' I pull myself up on the chain so that I'm hanging near the ceiling. Sure enough my father sends a spell at the lantern. I drop from the light as it connects with the chain and breaks it.

I grab the chain and take off so that I end up crouching behind a half wall. After five seconds I jump over the half wall.

_'You really have gone insane, it's a twenty five foot drop, what the hell are you thinking?'_ I mentally shake the thought off and start using the chain like a nun chuck whip combo.

"You can think under pressure, but how about under pain?" father yells.

Almost immediately a curse hits me, and I feel my knees buckle under me. I hold down a scream and my lungs burn with the effort. Concentrating, I work through the pain and whip the chain at my father, catching him in the calf. He hisses in pain, then doubles the effort placed into his spell. It isn't the Cruciartus, I'm glad about that, but the spell is a Grimwood original. Crafted by Sir Fredrick Hermes Grimwood in the middle ages he used it against one of the Deverill brothers.

After a moment the pain stops and I look up. Father is looking towards the door of the training room, and he looks somewhat curious.

"Annalisa, go change robes quickly. Pull your hair back and then go into the lounge. Wait for me there, we have some unexpected guests coming," father commands.

I immediately leap up and dash to my room. I throw on a plain black silk robe and pull my hair into a pony tail. I exit my room, climb the stairs and maneuver my way through the kitchen and entry hall into the lounge. I stand next to and behind my father's chair on the right hand side.

Father walks over to the door and casts a spell. Frowning, he opens the door.

"Lord Lestrange, welcome. Please come in," father says. His voice is tight, and he doesn't even acknowledge that Nathanial Lestrange is his cousin.

"Thank you, this is my son Rudolphus, he's here to help me with some…business," Lestrange says.

I'm suddenly glad that father told me to be here. I do not like the odds of two on one. I may just be acting paranoid, it's a trait that is deeply embedded in the Grimwood genes, but Lord Lestrange does not sound too friendly.

They enter the lounge and father gestures to me, "This is my daughter, Annalisa. Annalisa, Lord Lestrange and his son Rudolphus."

I bow slightly to Lestrange, "Lord Lestrange, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Lestrange gives a curt nod in my direction before turning to my father, "I am not in the mood to have your daughter here and listening to our conversation."

"She will stay. Being the next head of the family, Annalisa is the person who will have to listen to our policies and know what is done."

"_She _will be the next head of your family? I take it that you have no faith in your son?"

"Oh, I have plenty of faith in my son. Annalisa is just that much stronger than her brother, and power is what position is dictated by in the Grimwood family," father sneers, "Perhaps that is why our family surpasses your own Nathanial."

Lestrange seems to be agitated, "Gerladim I am not here to have you insult my family! You can keep the girl here, but I still wish to discuss this business!"

Father sits on the couch and gestures to the chair opposite him, "Please, sit and we will discuss this _business_ you have."

Lestrange sits while his son stands on his right hand side. I walk behind my father and stand on his right. For a few moments the men just stare at each other, then father smirks.

"You know Nathanial, you have never been that good at keeping your intentions hidden. Hurry up and get on with your piece before I have Annalisa escort you out," father drawls.

Lestrange seems to bristle at this and sneers, "Fine then. In case you have not had the time to notice, there are changes going on in the Wizarding community. There is a man, he calls himself Lord Voldemort, but to those who are loyal he is referred to as the Dark Lord. He believes that the Wizarding race needs to be purified, and after that has happened, that we shall have the power that is deserved. Purebloods shall rule as it was in the mid-ages. Those who have joined him are assured a place in the new world-"

"As interesting as this is Nathanial, I happen to know this already. What is that you wanted to discuss?"

"Events of recent have spread doubt amongst the other families about how you and Lord Black run your house. All I want to know is that when the time comes, will the other pureblood families be able to rely upon you, if needed?" Lestrange asks.

I frown, _'Of course they would be concerned about Sirius and me being a Gryffindor. It defies all of their logic, and that makes them worried.'_

Father tilts his head slightly, "Why Nathanial, someone would think that you're scared with the way you're talking."

"There is nothing wrong with fear in the proper places. It is a version of self preservation. I'm sure that you have felt fear at one point," Lestrange says.

"Grimwoods are never scared," father says. That's one of the rules that has been pounded into my head since I was young. The other is to never cry. Crying is a sign of weakness, and is not tolerated by my relatives.

Lestrange bows his head, "My apologizes. I did not mean to insult you."

"Then you have no place in worrying as to whether my family shall stand on the proper side of any battle. Whatever side we stand on is the best, and the one that will win. Remember that the next time that you want to doubt me Nathanial, now leave my house," father rumbles.

Lestrange stands and motions for his son to follow. Even though the boy has graduated Hogwarts I can tell that he is a poor fighter. They leave and father turns to me.

"Tell no one what you have heard. I do not feel like having to explain why you know this information to anyone," father growls.

**AN/ While most families of this time would make the first born son the heir, following a patralinical pattern, the Grimwoods are fighters. This means the more powerful you are, the better your chances of being heir, and it also means that the heir could be male or female.**


	10. Declaring the Heirs

I walk past my parents study and see my Aunt Peggy sitting stiffly in a chair. I almost continue on my way when I hear her give a raspy gasp. I cautiously enter, and see that she's gone into a sort of trance.

"Aunt Peggy?" I whisper. Nothing happens, so I turn to leave when she grabs my wrist.

"_Though they are born from darkness, kindred spirits stand at rebellion. And they shall fight for light, using powers of the dark. Grims both, yet wolf and dog, shall roam the land, omens of themselves."_

I manage to wrench my arm from her hold and take off at a run. What any of that means I have no idea. I honestly believe that my aunt has gone insane.

_'Yes, but what does any of that mean? Grims? Darkness?'_ my thoughts race through my head trying to figure out the puzzle, but can't because I'm missing most of the pieces.

"Watch where you are going!" Tessa snarls, "You no good brat."

I roll my eyes, "My apologies Queen Git of the Slytherins."

Her eyes narrow, and she pulls out her wand. Instinct kicks in and I dodge to the right. I notice that her stunner hits the bottom of the stairs, and that I would have been hit had I not moved so quickly.

"Mother and Father won't be pleased that you tried to take away their fun!" I sneer.

Her eyes flash, "I'll get you. One day when you least expect it, I'll get you."

My eyes roll, "Please, don't be so melodramatic."

I watch as Tessa walks off, and can't help but to feel that though her words had been melodramatic, that they would be right. She would get me, but would she kill me? I snort. Am I lucky or what? Other kids get to go home and have ice cream, I go to hell and fight the devil's minions. I wonder what it's like for the others. I know that Remus has already been through one moon, and I hope that he's alright. Peter is probably with his parents on holiday or something. James is most definitely at home playing Quidditch. Sirius…well to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if his holiday wasn't all that different from mine.

"Annalisa."

The voice breaks me from my thoughts and I fight the urge to stiffen my back in surprise.

"Yes, father?" I ask.

"Training room, five minutes. Bring your wand." His footsteps tell me that he has left the room and I exit to my room. Pulling off my house robes I look at my fighting robes. Those damn things get in my way too often. Frowning I decide that I'm going to forgo them. Changing into a black tank top I also add on my leg holsters. Each holster holds three throwing blades, and one never wants to be without a weapon.

_'Always have a weapon. Whether muggle or wizard, always have a weapon.'_ I pull on a pair of black fingerless gloves and my hair is also pulled back into a low pony tail. I grab my wand and pause for a moment, looking at my wrist holster for it.

_'Should I? Father has probably already positioned himself in the training room, and it would be bad to have my wand knocked out of my hand immediately. Ah hell, just grab it.'_

I grab my holster, inset my wand and take off at a jog as I strap on the holster. I decide against using the main entrance, or even the second entrance. Instead I opt for the ventilation ducts. In our old house the vent ducts are large enough for me to crawl through and still have plenty of room, and I know where they connect with the training room.

Arriving at one of the ornate grates I look out. Sure enough, I can see father looking around worriedly.

_'What is going on? Worry equates with fear in father's mind, and Grimwoods are never scared.'_ But that's when the light bulb turns on, _'I triggered the ward, but didn't enter through one of the doors. He doesn't know where to expect me! Oh this is just too good.'_

I manage to levitate the grate away from me, climb out, then place the grate back silently. I count to five before starting to travel through the shadows.

_"Grimwoods travel best through shadows. Remember that. We have always been at home in the darkness. It is in our blood, and it is our source of power."_

I shake my head, _'Why now?_'

_Mother and Father standing at the top of the stairs on the first floor landing. Staring down with cold eyes. The flick of a wand. Floating through the house, and being sent down into the first basement._

Blinking, I realize that I've stopped moving and start forward again, _'What is going on with me?'_

"Concerned Annalisa?"

My eyes widen and I look up.

_Father sits in his study and I carefully walk over to him. He looks down at me and smiles._

_"Hello Ann. To what do I owe this pleasure?" he asks._

_"I want you to come down to my party. I don't want you up here!" I chirp._

_He pauses and pretends to think, "Party? Oh! You're four today aren't you? You know what? How about you go down and save me a piece of cake and I'll come down as soon as I can."_

_"Ok daddy!"_

"I know you're worried. I've always been able to tell with you. You've always been my atrum angelus. Even now, when you deviate from the path that a proper Grimwood should take," father calls.

_'Atrum Angelus? Why does that sound so familiar? He's never called me that before.'_ I shake my head once more and pull out my wand. A moment later I'm dodging spells and mutter a curse as I realize that he had known where I had been. He had always known.

Lights flash and I dodge them as fast as I can. The strongest spell I cast is a fourth year level hex, I stifle back a laugh as I remember that Sirius and James were always fighting about who was more of a bookworm, Remus or me.

"Really Annalisa? Out of all the curses and hexes you know, you send a measly fourth year level hex?" father asks, grating at my nerves.

"Unlike you, I don't stoop to low levels to win," I snarl, flicking my wand and sending three curses in a row.

Of course he blocks them, and a moment later I find vines around my ankles. They pull me to the center of the arena and flip me so that I'm hanging upside down.

"You might not stoop to those levels now, but you will. I know you, and you will fall," father whispers, then exits the room, locking it behind him.

Scowling I grab my throwing knives and throw a couple at the vines, but the blasted things move. When I'm down to one I huff in annoyance. I then bend up at the waist and swipe at the vine. Once again the blasted thing moves. I growl and think. Remus would say that I have to be patient. James would say to throw the knife at the thing. Peter would start crying, and Sirius would yell at the vine to let him go while trying to sneak up on it.

_'Why is it that none of the things you imagine your friends doing will work? Even if you don't try them you know they won't work!'_

"Wait a minute. What the hell am I doing?" I scowl at my own stupidity and flick my wand at the vines while muttering a cutting curse. The vine is hit and I fall about five feet and land on my right side.

I wince, scramble to my feet, and head towards the door. It's locked so I try an unlocking spell, but that doesn't work. I run to the other door, but it's the same situation. Because I can, I send a couple of charms at the vent ducts, but they fly off in random directions. I am locked in this damn place.

"Damn it!" I mutter and begin to pace. This room has no windows, two doors, three vent shafts, two levels and a whole bunch of other rubbish spread throughout the place.

"Come on, think. How can you get out of here?" I begin to look around and frown when I realize that I don't have much to work with.

_Cold. Darkness. A howl in the night. Three dogs running side by side. Two black and one brown. One glances up at the sky, which holds the moon, and howls._

I hear a click and almost fall out of the hammock that I made from the cargo net. I've been locked in this room for about a week. I can't be entirely sure how long it's been due to the lack of windows, and since they don't supply food. I'm lucky that there are some pipes that have water valves on them.

I duck behind a low wall and look at the door where the click came from. A moment later the door opens and a small shadow steps in. Rowan. I smile and hop down from where I'm at.

"_Lumos_." Light enters the space and I blink a couple of times at the brightness, "Rowan?"

"Ann, I'm glad that you're ok. Well, as ok as you could be locked in here."

"Hey no big. Just taking a little holiday from the rest of the family. Does me some good."

Rowan raises an eyebrow, "Right, like being half starved is any good for you."

I scoff, "Better than being beaten every damn day."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't say that you're sorry! Rowan, don't say you're sorry, not when it comes to them," I mutter, "Now what do you need?"

"I was told to come and get you. Father says that you're to accompany him to a meeting. Formal robes required," Rowan says.

I roll my eyes, "Great, time to be bored to tears. Thanks munchkin."

"Uh huh, whatever you say psycho," Roan grins.

I laugh and ruffle his hair as I walk past. My thoughts race as I try to figure out what father is doing. What would I need to attend that would make formal robes necessary?

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

I shoot up in bed and my head whips around, looking all around trying to figure out why I woke up and why I feel scared. I blink at the shadows and shake my head.

"Come on Sirius, it's just shadows on the walls. Get over it," I mutter and burrow under the covers again. Truth be told, I hate coming home during break. The place has always creeped me out and I've always felt like there's something watching me from the shadows. I count to ten, but that doesn't help so I sit up and cast _Lumos_. I'm lucky that the ministry doesn't notice my magic due to the house being surrounded by it. As usual there isn't anything to see, and it's just the work of my over imaginative mind.

"_Nox_. Alright get some sleep. Ignore the shadows and get some sleep," I mutter. A moment later my door opens to show a tall figure standing there.

"Sirius, wake up. I have to attend a meeting and you have to be there," father's voice snakes to me from the door. He has a low voice that has the drawl of his father.

"Yes father," I reply and crawl out of bed.

"Wear your best robes, and look like a Black. You will be representing the future of this family." Father leaves, closing the door with a snap behind him.

I scowl and trudge to my wardrobe. Pulling out the black silk robes in the back, I also grab a black dress shirt and trousers of the same color. Pulling my clothing on I'm half tempted to add my Gryffindor tie, but decide against it. I don't wear ties and it would get me in trouble anyway, so why wear something uncomfortable, just to get in trouble? Shaking my head, I know what my response would have been if I was acting like me. Because it's fun. But now…now I'm hiding so I can get through this break without incident, and it isn't proving to be easy.

Once I'm dressed I descend the stairs and head towards the lounge. Father is waiting for me and nods his approval once he sees my dress. It's the standard Black uniform. Robes, trousers, dress shirt, dragon hide boots and belt. Everything as black as the name minus the buttons, buckles and embroidery, which is all in silver.

"Enter the floo and go to Princella's. Wait for me once you exit," father instructs.

"Yes, sir," I reply. Grabbing the Floo powder I step into the flame calling out Princella's. It's a whirlwind of green and I step out of the fireplace at the other end, putting up the mask as I exit. As much as I hate to do it, it can be helpful. I look around slightly and notice that the other pureblood families are arriving as well. The Notts, the Potters, the Malfoys, the Goyales, and the Crabbs. I notice that Ann is already here and is standing to her father's right. She looks tired and thin. I almost frown, but catch her eye and nod at her instead. She nods as well then goes back to scanning the room. James isn't here. Instead it's just his father and I wonder if Mr. Potter left James at home for a reason. Father glides out of the fireplace and heads immediately toward the large parlor room dining area of Princella's.

I start wondering what's going on that would call all seven of the Noble and Ancient houses together. It's odd. Never have I known all seven families to gather in one place. The houses rank according to age of the family, the current order is family Black, family Grimwood, family Potter, family Malfoy, family Nott, and then the families of Crabb and Goyale are tied.

Father takes his seat at the head of the table and I stand off to his right. Ann and her father are off to our right and the families take their seats accordingly with the Goyales to our left.

"Welcome to the meeting. I am appreciative that all the families have made it this evening, and I will try to make this meeting as short as possible so that we may depart for whatever else is planned," father begins, "As you know this is the year that you make known who your heir will be, along with other situations of familial discoveries which need to be taken care of. There has also been a request for the family Lestrange to be added to the list of Noble and Ancient families. We will be hearing from the head of the Lestrange family this evening. First the names of the heirs will be announced, starting with the family Goyale and ending with the family Black."

I hold back an eye roll at my father's speech and just pay attention to the people who I will, unfortunately, have to deal with.

"For the family Goyale, Gregory Goyale is named heir."

"For the family Crabb, Vincent Crabb is named heir."

"For the family Nott, Stephen Nott is named heir."

"For the family Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy is named heir."

"For the family Potter, James Potter is named heir."

"For the family Grimwood, Annalisa Grimwood is named heiress."

"For the family Black, Sirius Black is named heir."

**AN/ Half way through with re-posting. Also, thank you to Bernardus for pointing out a mistake in terms. I am American, and as such use Americanisms. If anyone who knows/notices problems with slang that is used in my story(ies) please feel free to point them out to me, as I will be most appreciative. **


	11. Who We Are

I can almost hear the shock amongst the crowd. Not only has a female been named heir, or heiress if you want to be technical, but two black sheep have been picked for the heirs of the oldest families. Oh, the gossip that shall fly.

"Now, onto other business. Lord Lestrange, enter."

I watch as the head of the Lestrange family enters the room, and based on the reaction of those in the room I have to wonder if he is welcome. I notice that Ann stiffens slightly and takes a more, offense friendly, stance.

"Lord Lestrange why do you feel as if your family should be added amongst those Noble and Ancient?" father asks.

Lord Lestrange looks around at each of the families, skipping Mr. Potter, and ends with my father.

"The family Lestrange has long held the same beliefs that those who are Noble and Ancient hold. We have Purity beyond the average family and are just as old as the family Goyale. It is time that the Family Lestrange joins ranks with its equals and strengthens the families that are Noble and Ancient," Lord Lestrange says.

I almost raise my eyebrows in shock. He basically just said that the families who are a part of this group are not as royal as they think they are and are weak. All hell is going to break loose at this.

Sure enough my father straightens and his eyes turn cold. I now can see why a lot of the other families fear the house of Black. My father can turn pretty damn scary.

"Lestrange, are you saying that the seven families are weak? That we are below our actual rank? Do not bring us down to your level! The proof of how small and disgraceful you are is proven here tonight. By begging me to be a part of this meeting and then insulting us proves that you know nothing of our culture. By walking in here as if it is your right to be granted a spot at this table shows what _scum_you are," father sneers.

"Lord Black," Lord Grimwood starts, "If I might add that Lord Lestrange came to my house earlier this week and displayed doubts about the seven families. I feel that he wishes to overthrow the seven and ruin our good names. It seems even more likely now that he stands before us in a sniveling manner and attempts to condemn us."

I blink once and realize that might be why Ann is standing like that by her father. She doesn't like having Lestrange and his son nearby.

Father glares at Lestrange, "Leave my sight, and do not attempt to contact us in search of joining our ranks again. If you do you will find out why we are feared."

Lestrange bows deeply and leaves. Only a pureblood could get away with a threat like that to another family. And only a man who has a lot of strength and power could cause a head of another family leave with his tail between his legs like that. I might not agree with what my family does or how they act, but I have to admit that father is powerful.

"Now," father sits down, "the floor is open for any questions or comments."

Lord Malfoy raises a hand, "I am curious. My son has told me of your son and Lord Grimwood's daughter. Both are in Gryffindor. Are you sure that they are being properly trained to take up the mantle of being the heads of their house? Particularly little Annalisa."

I notice Ann stiffens and I see her eyes flash silver as her temper slips a little.

"My son is perfectly capable to being the head of the family," father says. I notice his tone and know that he realises that this will be the focus of the night.

Lord Malfoy smiles, "Of course, though my focus is mainly on Miss Grimwood, rather than your son."

"My daughter is more than apt at dealing with anything."

"Anything?"

Lord Grimwood tilts his head slightly to the right, "What are you getting at Abraxas?"

"How about a simple duel between your daughter and my son? It seems like a perfect way to determine if Annalisa is capable of being the head of your family."

I want to object and open my mouth to do so, but an elbow to the ribs from my father tells me otherwise. I look at Ann and see that she's eyeing Lucius cautiously.

Grimwood nods, "Fine, should there be seconds or partners?"

"Let's allow the children to decide."

Lucius looks around the room, then at Ann, "I say we have partners."

"All right. Name yours," Ann smirks, surprising a couple of people around the room.

"Stephen."

Ann catches my eye and I nod, "Mine's Sirius."

The adults stand and head toward the dueling arena that's set up in the next room. I step over by Ann and see her smiling.

"Quick question, have you totally lost your mind? We're going against a seventh year Slytherin!" I whisper.

"And?"

"And? What do you mean and?"

Ann turns to me, "Sirius think about it. What causes more damage than actual damage? Chaos. What do you and I cause best? Chaos! Come on Sirius, put two and two together!"

I frown slightly. _'She's right. What do you have to lose? Besides aren't you sick of acting like a good little pureblood? Act like yourself for once!'_

"Besides," Ann continues, "you know you want to."

I look up at her and I smirk.

Ann grins, "There's that I'm-up-to-no-good smirk that I love. Come on, let's go show them what it means to mess with us!"

As we step into the room, I notice that Ann takes off her robes and places it on a table. I follow her lead because I know it will make it so much easier to fight. I glance at Ann and notice a mark that goes around her forearm on her right arm, like she got burned or cut or something.

"Ready?" she asks.

I sigh, "As ready as I'll ever be."

The both of us step into the small arena that has been drawn out and the other two are already inside. Ann stands to the right of me, her wand in front of her, her side turned toward her opponents, and eyes narrowed. I flick my wand from its holster and kneel, being sure that I'll be able to get up quickly if need be.

"You're going to fight like that?" she asks.

"Yeah, got a problem with that?"

"Nope. That's actually pretty good, because you make yourself smaller."

I nod and watch the other team.

"This is going to last until one side has no one standing or until one team gives up," father says, "Everything goes."

My heart beats loudly as I wait to begin….

~*~ Ann's POV~*~

I'm a little nervous about Sirius battling. He doesn't have the training that I do, and I'm not sure if he knows any offensive magic. However, I know that he has extremely quick reflexes and can fire off a bunch of spells at once.

_'You are my Atrum Angelus, now do your worst.'  
><em>  
>I shake my head, trying to dislodge the random thought that sounds so much like my father.<p>

Malfoy and his partner begin to throw spells at us and we block them.

"Start now!" I command and start to throw out some of the most chaotic spells I know. Sirius is doing the same and some of our spells merge together to make some loud explosions.

Things seem to be going alright when this blood red spell races toward Sirius.

"Sirius!" I run over and knock him to the side taking the hit.

"Damn, why do you always have to be the one to jump in front of the dangerous spells?" Sirius asks after casting a shield charm.

I give a small laugh as I try to catch my breath, noticing the major drop in my energy.

"Guess it's the Gryffindor in me," I joke before dodging another dark spell, "Damn it, they've started to use dark spells."

"What do you want to do? We can't keep up with what we've been using, my father says that anything goes. They could kill us and our families could make it look like an accident." Sirius asks.

_'Annalisa, you know your power. You might be younger than Nott, but you are a Grimwood. Destroy them.'  
><em>  
>I shrug, ignoring the previous thought, "I'm the only one here who knows any dark spells to fire back with-"<p>

"Actually…"Sirius trails off, "I know quite a few. Then again, being a Black…."

I think for a moment, "Do you know how to cast your family's signature spell?"

Sirius nods, "That's the first one I was taught."

Glancing up at the shield I notice that it's still standing, "Alright, cast that."

"What are you going to do?" Sirius asks.

I glance at him, "A spell that should hopefully cause a hell of a lot of damage."

"Ann…."

"Just get ready to cast, yours will take longer so I'll place up a better shield, now move!" I shout as I jump out and start to cast the strongest shield I know. In the background I hear Sirius muttering the incantation for his family's spell, and I notice how his voice turns a bit darker, more like his father's than his own.

I start to gather strength and the fleeting thought that we're only going to be second years, that we might not know enough magic, and that….

I watch in horror as a spell breaks the barrier and streaks at Sirius, hitting him in the chest and causing him to fly back about twenty five feet.

"Sirius!" I shout. When there's no response I dash over to him and notice that he's breathing heavily.

"Shit…what…the hell…was that?" Sirius gasps.

I shake my head, "I don't know. Are you able to keep going, or do you want me to distract them?"

"Ann, you know they're gonna push you until you fight them with all you've got," Sirius grits his teeth, "Come on, show them the reason they don't want to mess with a Gryffindor."

I smile, "Cause we're stubborn as hell."

"And we're just as dangerous. Go give 'em hell, and I'll join in when I can."

I nod and stand. When I turn around I just drop all the worry about if people will still be my friends even if I use dark magic, I know Sirius will still be my friend and that's all I care about right now.

"What's wrong? Sirius can't take the pressure?" Malfoy taunts. He sneers and sends another spell at Sirius.

The small bit of control that I had is let go and I block the spell easily. I hear Sirius regaining his breath, but know that I'm too enraged at the morons to worry about it.

I raise my wand, "_Subsisto subterlabor_."

The pair begins to worry as they realize that they cannot move. I cast a cage around them and remove the original spell that froze them in place. I pause for a moment before casting a couple of charms at the cage to test its strength. Once I'm sure it's sound, I turn back to the Slytherins, who by this time are starting to panic.

I tilt my head to one side, "_Profundus incidere."_

A couple of shallow cuts, that avoid major veins, appear on the Slytherin's arms, causing Nott to scream and Malfoy to glare.

"_ Ignis_." I don't react when the two boys start to scream in horror, and only when I feel a hand on my shoulder do I come out of my trance like state.

I look at Sirius, "Alright Ann."

When I realize what's been going on my head snaps to the two boys and my eyes widen even more.

"_Finite Incantatum_." I mutter, causing all spells to end. Looking over at the adults I can see a couple of them muttering to each other, a couple of them staring at me, and my father giving me a glare.

Turning to Sirius I sigh, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think it was just an air restriction spell. No big deal. Are you alright?"

I nod, "I just wish-"

"Annalisa! How come you've never shown this ability in your training?" father asks as he strides up to me.

"Because I don't like using dark magic," I growl.

Father sneers and walks over to Lord Malfoy to discuss the duel.

"That was some interesting spell work you two did. Rather high in level too."

Sirius and I turn to see James's dad standing behind us.

"Lor-" Sirius starts.

"Don't call me Lord. You know James, so you can call me Mr. Potter."

Sirius nods, "So why isn't James here?"

Mr. Potter sighs, "Take a look around. You know how my family feels about dark magic and pureblood supremacy."

I flinch at his mention of dark magic, and hope that he doesn't notice. Unfortunately, he does.

"Let me tell you both something," Mr. Potter says, "You come from dark families. Granted. But I can tell that you two are some of the best people around. Want to know how? The way James keeps talking about how cool his friends are. How awesome his friends are. How different his friends are. Only people James truly cares about could cause such a reaction from him. That's how I know you two are different."

I listen, but it doesn't help my mood any.

"Mr. Potter? Are all old spells dark?" Sirius asks.

Mr. Potter laughs, "Of course not. Magic itself is not good or bad, it is what the witch or wizard uses it for. Now I bid you two good night and good luck."

We watch as Mr. Potter walks away and out of the room.

"You know, I really admire Mr. Potter. He's a good man," Sirius says. He turns to me and smiles, "Come on Ann, don't look so down."

I sigh. I don't know if Sirius understands. Looking into his eyes though, I can tell that he understands perfectly. That he understands and is trying to get me to understand. We have to use our own sort of mask. Not the I'm-a-pureblood-prat one that we're taught, but the I'm-a-reckless-Gryffindor one. Once I realise this I smile and start laughing.

Sirius gives a crooked smile. After a moment he pulls me over to a table and we sit down and watch the grownups. A waiter walks by and we order a large banana split, which causes the waiter to also smile for some reason.

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

I realised something when Mr. Potter was talking to Ann and me. I can't keep hiding myself. Even if it is to protect myself. Why should I have to be someone other than Sirius? So being wonderful me, I decided that Ann and I deserved ice cream and dragged her to a table at the edge of the room, closest to the main dining room.

When the waiter comes back with our banana split I grab one spoon and start to eat.

"So, how is it?" Ann asks.

I smile around the spoon, "Great. I really like the strawberry sauce."

Ann takes the spoon and takes a chunk of chocolate ice cream. After observing it for a moment she takes a bite.

"Oh. My. God. This is so good! I can't believe that I've never had this ice cream before!" Ann says.

I laugh and take another spoonful. I watch the adults as they talk and discuss different items on the agenda. It's odd to see so many of the Lords in one place; they tend to avoid gathering together.

"So," I start, "do you want to practice some magic when we get back to school? I'm working on a plan for this wicked prank, but some of the magic needed for it is way too advanced. The charms are especially bad and I don't think that I could get them on my own. What do you say?"

Ann looks at me, "Are you crazy? Of course I'll help. What level are the charms? I can work on them while over break."

"They're a level five definitely; just don't act too much like a bookworm over summer. You need to get some sleep," I smirk.

Ann rolls her eyes and smiles, "Yeah, cause I get tons of sleep over break."

"Well, you should try to get more then. I don't care what kind of 'training' you have to do. Get some sleep," I instruct.

Ann gives a mock salute, "Yes sir. And you should get something to eat over break too. Don't try watching your girlish figure, just eat."

"I will when I can, you know me, always busy," I smile.

_ 'Except for when you're getting thrown into the cellar for punishment because you're the family's blood traitor.'_I try to ignore the thought, but I can tell that it is shown in my eyes slightly.

"Sirius. We're going home."

I hold back a sigh and flash a quick grin at Ann, before standing and following my father to the fireplace to use the floo. I take a pinch of the emerald powder and throw it into the flames. When the color changes I step in.

"Number twelve Grimmauld Place!" I call. Closing my eyes against the spinning I count to ten and open my eyes again so I can step out without hitting my head against the fireplace. Entering the kitchens, I feel my spirits dampen as I wonder if I will be able to stand this much longer.

The fireplace shoots up again and father steps out. His eyes narrow and he gives me a glare. I unwillingly flinch and take a step back.

"Sirius, I thought that you were a better duelist than that! Yet you were taken out by a measly hex. Go up to your room, your mother and I will discuss what has happened," father snaps.

I turn on my heel and quickly climb to the top floor and open my door to my room, before dodging into it quickly. I take off my robes and throw it into a corner of the room, feeling a sudden flash of anger toward my parents.

_'They're going to blame you for being hit with a spell. They're going to say that you shouldn't have trusted Ann, and you're going to end up in the cellar for it!'_my thoughts rage and they turn to a slightly more depressed tone.

"Why?" I ask myself as I start to pace. I frown as I look out my window. The moon's full tonight and I can't help but sigh at the sight, knowing that it is more than likely that I'll be thrown into the cellar and won't be able to sleep with my drapes open and watch as it drifts across the sky as I fall asleep.

The door opens as I turn to it again and I freeze in my pacing. Father is framed in the door with mother standing just behind him. I pull myself up to full height and watch them.

"It is our decision that you will practice your magic more. At least three hours a day under your mother or my supervision. You will begin tomorrow," father states before turning from the doorway and leaving. Mother lingers for a moment, glaring at me, then leaves as well. I shut the door and look out at the moon.

"No cellar. I just have to practice spells. Just practice spells," I mutter. Yet somehow I know that it won't be as easy as I wish.

~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

Grunting I heft the large case up the stairs wondering why our family has to be so bloody materialistic.

Tessa isn't helping any, Rowan would get crushed by the trunks, and mother took away my wand, so I have to carry my cousin's blasted trunks up to the guest bedrooms by myself. As I manage to hit the third floor I glance down the stairs, set the trunk on the granite, and give it a good push. I smirk as the trunk slides all the way to the room at the end of the hall and stops next to the bed. It's a good thing that my mother has given the elves entirely too much floor polish, or else that would have never worked.

Turning around I sigh upon remembering the rest of the trunks at the bottom of the stairs. I put my hands on my hips for a moment and think about how to get them up here faster. Glancing up I notice a rope next to the chandelier. Smirking I run down to first floor and start to lower the large crystal structure.

I take off running down the hall and end up in the back yard. As I sprint, I can't tell if father is going to use magic to get me. That would be the easiest thing to do, but he might be willing to let me go right now, and make training extra hard the next time. Apparently it isn't such a good idea to use a chandelier as a dumbwaiter for trunks of luggage.

I hit the woods that are behind our house and keep running. I don't know how well mother will react to this either. She could be just as bad as father.

Passing by the trees I keep to the trail that I normally run in the mornings. Unlike the rest of my family, I actually like to run. It's a good way to keep busy. And when running through a forest it's even better because of the scenery. When I come up to the fork, I take the right path instead of the left and keep running. The air racing into and out of my lungs makes me feel energized and I keep up the effort, even when the speed makes them start to burn. My footsteps are amazingly quiet and I am glad that I decided to wear shorts today instead of jeans. The sunlight flickers through the leaves and there's a slight green color to everything. I don't mind this type of green, it's the obnoxious Slytherin green that I'm surrounded by when I'm at that house that bothers me.

I pause when I see a small cottage. Carefully taking a couple of steps toward the building, I check to see if anyone has been there recently and notice that the cottage is uninhabited. I walk up to the door and try the handle. It opens without much grief and I step inside. Looking around the simple furnishings are rather different than my family's. Instead of looking like a museum, the place looks like a home. Sitting on the couch I stare at the reflected light from a bit of stained glass and wonder if I could ever live in a home again.

I enter the dueling room and look around at the different types of swords on the walls. Though I prefer the Katana, it would be best to learn another one so I'm a better fighter. I walk along and remember the differences in the weapons.

The Katana, originally made in Japan for samurai, is a really good weapon. A slightly curved blade and length between twenty six and thirty inches, I smile as mine shines in the light from the lamps. I make sure to keep the blade and the sheath clean and well polished.

Walking past my sword, I glance at the foils before shuddering and continuing on to the Spatha swords. Spatha swords are typically longer and were used by the Roman Calvary. I pick up one and frown as the weight feels off. The sword feels unbalanced and like it's not very useful at all. I transfer it to my left hand and give a couple of test swings. Sure enough the sword is not right, for me at least, and I set it back.

I decide to just ignore the rest of the Roman swords and glance at the Scottish Claymore before shuddering. That would require two hands and I need to be able to use my wand as well.

Sighing, I glance around at all the other weapons before noticing a sword hidden by a lance.

"What the hell is a lance doing in here anyway?" I ask no one and pull the sword from its hidden spot. It's an English Short Sword, probably from somewhere in the 17th century. This sword is different from other short swords in that it's really not that short. I can tell that this one was made specifically for wizards as it's made from goblin grade steel. Balancing the sword with my left hand for a moment I nod and start for the center of the room. Taking up the standard position for sword fighting I balance the weapon in my left and go through the careful maneuvers.

"Learning a new sword?"

I turn to the door and see Rowan watching me. He walks in and grabs one of the rapiers from the wall. I nod and he smiles.

"I never thought that you would stop going on and on about that Katana."

"Hey, I love my Katana."

"I know you do, and that's rather sad."

"Oh, bugger off!"

Rowan laughs and starts to work on his fighting as well. Only instead of just working with the techniques, he uses a potion that father makes. The potion creates a sort of live dummy for us to fight against.

I pause for a moment to watch my little brother work then get back to my own sword. Unlike what a lot of people think, swords are not a learn one, learn all type of thing. There are different techniques for different swords. For instance with a Katana it has a more rounded blade, while most other European blades have a weird bracket like thing going on.

I frown as I realize that I did a move wrong and fix the position. This is going to take a while.


	12. Slight Mischief in the Alley

Rowan is pouting slightly as we go through Diagon Ally to pick up my school supplies. Tessa has already picked up hers and I can't help but to feel grateful that she isn't going to be there next year.

"I just don't see why-" Rowan breaks off as he's hit in the face with water. Flustering he turns to where the water came from, but no one's there.

I pause, "What the hell? Any friends of yours into water fights?"

"Nope, they've got to be yours." Rowan wipes his face and scowls.

Sighing I glance around the street, "I don't know. Those guys…I swear they've become brothers. Four brothers headed by non-blood twins."

"What?"

"Sorry. No they're around here somewhere. Let's buy some robes."

As Rowan and I walk down the street I notice the shadows twisting and moving slightly. Another form, changing slightly every so often, followed it but less successfully. Then there was the boy in the street. I can't tell but it seems to be the same person even if he looks different every time.

_'Sirius and James in the shadows. Sirius in the lead, James following. Remus is following in the street. Just past the Quidditch store. Boys are planning something. Signal from James. Duck in about a minute.'_

A minute later I shove Rowan down into a duck and roll my eyes as my back ends up totally wet. Once standing again I glare at the three boys.

"Thank you so much for getting me wet. That is exactly what I needed," I drawl.

"Thought you did," Sirius grins.

Remus rolls his eyes and pulls the random hat off of his head, "Now if you don't mind I'd like to return these items."

The werewolf walks off, casually replacing the items he'd grabbed while trailing Rowan and me. He looks a little taller than at the end of school last year and his hair has definitelygrown.

I turn to the other two boys and grin at them. James looks like he's grown the most out of the boys, making him about the same height as Sirius. He has new glasses, round wire framed ones and his hazel eyes glitter from behind the new lenses. His hair is just as messy as before and is sticking up in every which way.

Sirius is grinning and there's a glint of mischief in his eyes. I can't tell if he has something planned or if it's just because he's out of Grimmauld place that has him so happy. Probably a little of both, and add onto that he has his friends now and he's running on hyper mode. His hair is probably longer than his mother would like, but is actually really well looked after.

Remus re-approaches the group and smiles, "Hey Rowan. Sorry about what happened, but we needed to get your attention somehow. Are you going to Hogwarts this year or next?"

"Next. I really want to go this year though," Rowan pouts.

Sirius laughs, "You sound like Reg. He really wants to go as well, but he was born in early September, so even though he's turning eleven he can't attend until next year."

"Hey everyone!"

Turning, we watch as Peter runs up to us. I raise an eyebrow, surprised at the appearance of the boy. Something happened and he's lost quite a bit of the baby fat from last year. He was never fat, but he looks better now. The small mousy boy's had a tan but his hair is still the same color and he looks far to innocent to be really thought of as a mischief maker, but there's a spark in his eyes that is only familiar to anyone who spends a great deal of time with the Marauders.

"Woah, Peter. Someone's been spending some time outside," Sirius remarks.

Peter grins, "I've been helping my parents work on the new house. We've been painting and working on stuff like that. Mum has been planting the whole summer and the gardens look really good."

James nods, and his eye is caught by the Quidditch supplies in the window, "Oh wow. Hey, look at the new broom!"

It's the new Nimbus 1600. It's supposed to be really fast and maneuverable. James is starting to drool and Sirius raises an eyebrow before poking him in the ribs. This causes James to jump and stare at Sirius who just starts laughing like crazy.

"So what are we going to do other than drool over Quidditch stuff?" I ask. I don't mind the sport, but I only play for fun.

"Well they are holding Gryffindor tryouts this year. They need a couple of chasers and a new pair of beaters. I'm going to try out for one of the chaser positions," James says, "I could use a new broom though."

"And I could use a new bag for school," Remus mutters, glancing down the Alley at one of the shops where some of the nicer bags are.

"You heard the man, he needs a new bag!" Sirius shouts. He then loops his arm through Remus's and drags him off to the shop.

I laugh and pull Rowan along with me to the same store. He wanders off to look at some dueling gloves and armor while I try to find the boys.

"Sirius you are not going to buy that for me!" Remus exclaims.

"Why not? I missed your birthday, you need a new bag, and you said that you really like this one," Sirius says.

"Sirius have you even looked at the price of the bag?" Remus asks.

Sirius looks at the price and nods, "And?"

Remus's eyes widen, "Are you kidding? That bag costs fifty three galleons!"

I look between the two and look at the tag on the bag that Sirius is holding. It's made of Dragon hide and has plenty of extra stuff that will be useful for Remus. It has a pocket with an engorgement charm on it, an ink pouch that if the bottle opens up it won't let the ink run into the other pockets, there's a pouch that will organize your spare bits of parchment, and there are about a dozen other things that are included.

"Remus this is a really good bag," I say.

"It's a really expensive bag, and I don't want Sirius to buy it for me!" Remus shouts.

Sirius looks to me, "Want to go in half?"

I nod, "Absolutely. Want to add his name and a Gryffindor patch? It'll make it an even sixty."

"That seems like a really good idea. If he loses it and someone finds it they can return it." Sirius smirks.

Remus shakes his head and leaps toward Sirius to stop him from going up to the counter. I grab him around the waist and hold him back.

"Hurry up Sirius, Remmy is stronger than we give him credit for," I smile. Remus is straining to stop Sirius, but Sirius is smart and listens to me. Diving through the crowd, he makes it up to the counter and talks to the salesman. A moment later Sirius looks back to me and mouths thirty. I nod and, while holding Remus back, pull out thirty galleons and hand them to James.

"Go take these to Sirius at the counter," I huff and watch as he weaves his way to his partner in crime. It's only because I'm really into sword fighting and that Remus really does not want to use his full strength that I'm able to hold the boy back. If he wanted to Remus could pull me along like a rag doll.

"Why are you and Sirius so stubborn?" Remus sighs. He's stopped trying to escape, but I hold onto him anyway because I know the moment I let go he's going to rush to Sirius and try and convince him against buying the bag.

"Because we know we're right. Plus the both of us missed your birthday and we feel bad about that," I inform him.

"But…but…but…"

"No, you deserve it."

Remus sighs and we watch as Sirius returns with the bag. He hands the bag to Remus. Remus looks at the bag, and when he sees Remus J. Lupin embroidered on the bag under the Gryffindor patch he smiles.

"Thank you. Really, this is…thank you," Remus whispers. He looks at Sirius and me and smiles.

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

I can't help but to feel happy at the look on Remus's face. I can tell that Ann's pretty happy too and she wanders off to find her brother.

"So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" James asks.

I shrug, "Dunno."

It's silent for a few minutes and that starts to bug me. Looking around I sigh and start to wonder what would happen if I broke into random song.

"_Company__ Always on the run destiny is the rising sun. Oh I was born 6-gun in my hand_," I start. It's a song that I heard from some muggles in the street back home, and one that I find rather catchy.

Remus turns to me, "What are you doing?"

"Singing," I grin, "_Behind a gun I'll make my final stand. That's why they call me bad __company__, and I can't deny bad __company_."

"Where did you hear that?" James asks, "I haven't heard it before."

"Some muggles were playing it from a big black thing down in the street. I think it was a radio, but it kept playing the same song over and over again," I explain.

"It was probably a cassette or an eight track," Remus says.

"What's a cassette? What's an eight track?" Peter asks.

"They're items that play music by a certain band or group only. You can have the songs replay by rewinding them," Remus explains. He stops to look at some books that are on a display in the alley and bites his lip.

James shakes his head, "That's actually pretty smart. You don't have to wait for your favorite song on the radio."

I nod, "Yep, and you can avoid all the annoying ones."

The four of us walk over to the ice cream shop and grab some cones. The summer is rather hot, but not too humid, plus there's a nice breeze.

"What are we going to do this year? We need to get started with the pranking or else we aren't going to do any good," James says.

Remus rolls his eyes, but grins. Something that is a little known secret about Remus, he loves to make mischief. Though not so much on the getting caught part. Remus often is the driving force behind getting the information for our pranks.

"Well, if you want to do that then we're going to go to the book shop," Remus grins, "I need some new books, and you all can get your school books."

I groan as I realize that this could take all day, "Remmy, the moment you step into the book store it will be impossible for us to get you out. It will be like pulling teeth."

"Please, it's not that bad," Remus says, frowning slightly.

"Yes it is," Peter mutters, glancing at a sweets shop.

Remus mock glares at the three of us before shaking his head and grinning.

"Alright, to the book store," James announces, "We must keep the researcher of the group happy."

I chuckle and finish my ice cream, "So long as we avoid anyone who is even slightly related to people with a name rhyming with 'sack' or 'hood' then I'll be fine. The families have taken to snitching on each other."

"That sounds like a pain in the arse."

"You have no idea."

"How can he have an idea when he has no thoughts?"

Laughing at James's face I watch as Remus takes off at a run, with James chasing after him. Peter and I look at each other, shrug, and chase after the two.


	13. Second Year Begins with Letters

_Rowan!  
>Hey little bro, what's up? I'm really bored right now, and figured that since I haven't written you a letter in ages that I might as well write one. So how are you? Mother and father not giving you any problems, are they? Things are pretty bland around here, classes and all that. James keeps moaning that Quidditch tryouts haven't taken place yet, and Remus keeps hitting him when he does that. It's amusing to watch. Send me an owl soon, all right?<br>Your totally awesome sister,  
>Ann<br>_

**Reg**

** So, I should probably be paying attention to Minnie right now, I am in her class after all, but I really just don't feel like it. Instead I'm writing to you! Doesn't that make you feel special? You know, Hogwarts seems really great, but if it weren't for the occasional prank then, I would be bored out of my mind! Anyway, how is everything by you? Mother isn't dragging you to too many tea parties is she? Well, just think, only this year and then you'll be here at Hogwarts.  
>An extremely bored and hyper,<br>Sirius  
><strong>

_Ann,  
><em>_Sorry that it's taken so long for me to reply, but I've been busy with learning different pieces of magic and history and whatnot. No problems here, and I'm perfectly fine, though you really do need to write more. Tell James that he needs to keep his mouth shut if he doesn't want to end up with a concussion from being hit so much. Anyway, something interesting has happened around here. Mother and father were talking in his office yesterday about some dark lord who is apparently on the rise. I kept hearing something about 'vol de mort'. Isn't that French for 'flight from death'? I'm confused, you know that French was never my best language, why would they be talking about taking flight from death?  
><em>_Wondering how he ended up with such a crazy for a sister,  
><em>_Rowan  
><em>

**Sirius,**

**I thought that we had agreed to never mention the tea parties? Anyway, who is Minnie? The only teacher who I can think of with a name close to that is McGonagall, but somehow I don't think that she would appreciate a nickname. Hey, before I forget, mum and dad mentioned something about Voldemort. Isn't that the crazy person who Bella kept going on and on about? I don't know what they were going on about exactly, but they kept going on and on and on about this guy. You have any more information about him?  
><strong>**Not giving you sugar,  
><strong>**Regulus  
><strong>

**Regulus,  
>Did you hear anything else about Voldemort? I find it odd that Ann just received a letter back from her brother about something along the same lines. They didn't know that it's a person, they thought that someone was saying 'Flight from death'. There's another translation for that isn't there? If you know it please remind me cause it will bug me if you don't. Anyway, you guessed correctly about who Minnie is, though she really doesn't like it when we call her that. Gave me a detention the other day because I called her Professor Minnie. Sheesh, woman needs a sense of humor! And yes, Bella is still going on and on about Voldemort, don't know why. Though she only does it when there aren't any teachers around. I've got a bad feeling about that.<br>A very caffeinated Sirius.  
><strong>

_Rowan,  
>Just heard some interesting information about this flight from death thing that you picked up. Apparently mother and father were not speaking in French, but were talking about some wizard named Voldemort. Anyway, I don't know much about that, the name isn't familiar, so I'm going to wait for some more information. Did you hear about that family that was found dead? No one knows what killed them because there was no sign of death, but since it was an old couple the Ministry doesn't want to admit what's clear. Sorry, didn't mean to get into a dark topic, but it's the topic at the local gossip mill. Write soon.<br>Ann  
><em>

_Ann,  
><em>_Can't write much. Mother has been paying more attention to the papers lately. Think it has something to do with Voldemort. Happy Halloween in advance.  
><em>_Rowan  
><em>

**Sirius,  
><strong>**Happy Birthday! Happy Halloween as well. How did you get so lucky as to have your birthday on Halloween? Anyway, I hope you like your present, I had to sneak out of the house to get it for you. I just remembered the other translation for Voldemort. It's 'Flight of Death'. Kinda creepy huh? Well, mother and father had a few people over for dinner last night and then discussed politics. Apparently they're all expecting this Voldemort guy to go really far. Don't know what to expect myself, but I guess that I'll just have to keep my ear to the ground, huh?  
><strong>**Regulus  
><strong>

**Regulus,  
>THANK YOU! Thank you, thank you, thank you! How in the world did you know that I needed a new Quidditch glove? I know I told you about becoming Beater for Gryffindor, but I didn't think about getting a new set of gloves! Thank you, thank you, thank you! So Halloween was pretty awesome, I wish that you could have seen the Great Hall it was covered in decorations! The only gift that even came close to yours was the new wand holster that I got, but still, NEW GLOVES! I have got to find something good for you. Maybe I can get one of the older kids to get something from Hogsmead for you. Gotta go, James is trying to get a spell working and ended up charming Peter's hair neon pink.<br>A Very Grateful,  
>Sirius<br>**

**Lord of Hyperness  
><strong>**You're Welcome for the gloves. I figured that you'd need a new pair. So, quick question. Do you know what's going on with Rowan Grimwood? We were supposed to meet at Diagon Alley the yesterday for some shopping and fun, but he didn't show. Mother didn't seem all that surprised, but I'm worried. Try not to upset Ann, I know how close they are and I don't want her to worry about it too much he might have just been sick. Anyway, there was a man who lives across town who turned up dead last night. He'd been missing for a little bit and everyone was getting worried. There was a note with the body, but the information wasn't shared with anyone outside of the ministry. Something big is going on, and I don't know what to do about any of it.  
><strong>**Best Little Brother in the World,  
><strong>**Regulus  
><strong>

**B.L.B.W.  
>I don't know what's going on with Rowan. Ann's worried already. Apparently he hasn't written since before Halloween and that was about a month ago. I guess that it's understandable. Rowan and Ann are extremely close and she's really protective of him. As far as what's going on, you shouldn't have to do anything. Let's let the adults take care of this. Hopefully whatever it is will pass quickly and we all can live in peace. Also is there some illness that can affect people big time that is genetic? Remus is getting sick a lot and I'm wondering if he has what his mother has.<br>Sirius  
><strong>

**Sirius,  
><strong>**Alright, I'll let the adults deal with whatever it is. As far as Genetic illnesses go it might be any number of things. Is he a half-blood or pureblood? And before you go off about how blood doesn't matter, it actually does in this case. If he is a pureblood then that rules out any of the muggle diseases. See, sometimes it is good to know about this stuff. Anyway, get back to me with that and I can narrow it down. Also any symptoms would be good too.  
><strong>**Research and Theorizer  
><strong>**Regulus  
><strong>

**Regulus,  
>I don't know what he is. I think that Remus is half-blood, because his grandmother was a muggle, but I'm not sure. Just get me a list and I'll cross off what I'm sure isn't it. Symptoms? Umm… he gets really pale and weak. He gets snappish and short tempered. He'll end up sleeping a lot. It takes him about a day to recover. Hope you can find something with this information, I get worried about him. On other news, how did you like the snow last night?<br>Your favorite brother,  
>Sirius<br>**

**Sirius,  
>You're my only brother. And I loved the snow! Simply fantastic! About Remus, I think that it could be one of any of the illnesses in the book <strong>_**Genetic Magical Maladies.**_** Check it out and let me know what you think. Any news on Rowan? He hasn't contacted me at all, and I'm really starting to get worried. I mean there are only a couple of weeks until Christmas. Maybe he just hasn't been able to write? Has he contacted Ann? Keep me updated, will you?  
><strong>**Regulus  
><strong>

_Rowan,  
>What's going on? You haven't written since October, and it's November. Write me.<br>Ann  
><em>

**Regulus,  
>Thanks about the book. I don't know what's going on with Rowan. Ann wrote to him and ever since then has been more distracted and more irritable than before. I don't know what to do for her. Please tell me that you've heard from Rowan.<br>Sirius  
><strong>

**Sirius,  
><strong>**I haven't heard anything from Rowan. Going to ask mother or father if they know anything. Wish me luck.  
><strong>**Regulus  
><strong>

**Regulus,  
>Good luck, and be careful. There are only a couple of weeks then I'll come home for the holidays. Don't do anything stupid.<br>Sirius  
><strong>

_Rowan,  
>Please write me!<br>_

*Night before break*

~+~ Sirius's POV~+~

I enter the common room and see Ann sitting on the windowsill, watching over the grounds, waiting to see if any owls were heading towards the tower. It's extremely cold outside and some of the older kids just placed a spell around the area around the window to keep the cold air from getting into the rest of the tower. Stepping across that barrier there's a slight shiver, then I ignore it for the most part. Ann, who is just wearing a t-shirt and jeans, looks like she should be freezing right now, but she isn't even moving.

"Come on Ann, let's get you warmed up. You don't want to have hypothermia." I try to get her from the window, but she doesn't budge. In fact she doesn't do anything. I keep tugging at her and asking her to come warm up, to get away from the cold, or to at least put on a coat and warming spell, but she doesn't move. I'm about to try just picking her up when she perks up. An owl is highlighted against the quarter moon and flies right for the open window.

"Please be from Rowan," she mutters. The owl lands and holds its leg out to her. After the letter is taken from it, the owl leaves. There only thing written on the front is Ann's name. She rips open the envelope and pulls out the parchment. Eyes scanning the page her face turns dark and when she's done she clenches her teeth and slams the parchment onto the table.

"May I?" I ask. She nods and returns to watching the sky. The first thing I notice is that this is not Rowan's writing.

_**Annalisa,  
>Mother and father say that you have been trying to contact Rowan. He cannot write to anyone but me right now. So sorry. I can't tell you how he is doing, family stuff, you understand. Anyway, mother and father request that you come home for the holidays, they have some training that they want you to do. Don't try writing to Rowan again. He is not your concern.<br>Tessa**_

I scowl at the note and look at Ann, "Hey, you get to see how Rowan is doing tomorrow. That's something huh?"

When Ann turns back to me her eyes are pure silver, and I almost step back in shock.

"You don't get it. It's my job to protect him. He's the only decent one in my family. If he got hurt because of me…."

I frown, "Don't go there. You protect him the best you can. If he gets hurt while you're away then you can't do anything about it. Protect him when you can."

"I can't wait until next year when he's here at school. It will be so much easier," Ann murmurs. She leaves for the girls dorm after closing the window.

I glance around the room, looking for James, when there's a loud pop behind me. Spinning toward the noise I nearly knock over Remus, who held a paper bag that had a hole in it. I raise an eyebrow and he grins.

"I love doing that to people," Remus explains, "I didn't know if you would jump or not. You seem rather distracted, anything I can help you with?"

"Naw, I can't help who I want to help because they don't want help. And if I can't help them then you can't help me because there isn't anything for anyone to help with."

"Right, that makes perfect sense," Remus says, sarcasm lacing his voice.

James pops up, "Aww, Remmie, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

"But it is a form of wit."

"Eh, whatever. So who's up for some snap?" James holds up a deck of cards.

I nod, "One moment, I have to go to the library really quick."

James and Remus look at him with wide eyed scared looks. They start to back away slowly as if afraid that I'll attack them at any moment.

"What?"

"Sirius Black, lord of the procrastinators and anti-library board going to the library? Who are you and what have you done with Sirius?" James asks.

I roll my eyes, "Ha ha, very funny. I actually have to check out a book."

Remus grabs at his heart and pretends to fall back, "Dear Merlin! He's borrowing a book!"

"You two are a pair of bloody idiots," I growl. Leaving the tower I rush to the library so that I can get there and back to the tower on time. Not that I care about the detention (James has 79, I have 78, Remus has 9, Peter has 9 and Ann has 57. We have an unofficial contest running to see who can rack up the most detentions during their seven years at Hogwarts.), but I would rather not get one right before break. That just sucks.

After checking the book out I high tail it back to the tower. James, Remus and Peter are playing exploding snap and I smirk. Pulling out my wand I send a spell at the deck on the table and laugh when it explodes.

"SIRIUS!" The three boys yell.

I smirk as I jump over the back of the couch and land on the floor next to James.

"You yelled?"

Glancing at each other, the three nod and pull out pillows. My eyes grow wide and then I'm being pummeled.

"That's real fair! Come on, it's three against one!"

"Too bad!"

"Should have thought of that before hand!"

"Serves you right!"

Reaching around for a moment I grab a pillow and attack back.

"RAWR!"

"HEY!"

"Watch the glasses!"

"James you're not supposed to hit Peter!"

"Be careful of the fireplace!"

The four of us keep fighting, not even aware of the others in the common room watching and laughing.


	14. Pieces of Lore

~+~Sirius's POV~+~

It's nice and soft and warm and I don't wanna leave.

_Sirius…_

No, go away.

_Sirius…_

I said go away!

"SIRIUS!"

Shooting up out of bed I look around and see James smirking at me.

"Took you long enough, sleeping beauty!"

I throw a pillow at him and climb out of bed. Stretching I glance at my suitcase, kind of wishing that I didn't have to go home, but knowing that there was no way I would just leave Reg all by himself at that place.

There's a knock at the door and the four of us glance at it curiously. James opens the door to see Evans standing there, winded.

"Evans? What is it?" James asks.

"We-we need-Sirius. Grimwood's lost it!" She gasps.

My eyebrows come together, "What do you mean?"

She shakes he head, "You have to come look. Down in the Great Hall. Her sister had come over and had been provoking her. Then-well, you'd better hurry!"

When I hear that Tessa had been provoking her I take off at a run. I don't know what's happening, and I don't know what will happen in the time that I get there, but if Evans came to get me, then that means that the adults either cannot get to Ann, or are afraid to hurt her.

As I run down the stairs I can't hear anything coming from the hall, and that worries me. Picking up speed I sprint into the hall and see why people are keeping silent.

Ann is glaring at Tessa, who is magically being held in place, with her hair flying out. the food on the Gryffindor table near her is either flipped or just totally displaced. There's dark purple and black beams of magic flying around the two of them and from the look on Tessa's face I can tell that she isn't causing any of them.

"Holy mother of Merlin," James says as he runs in behind me.

I notice that she hasn't hurt Tessa, but is just scaring the hell out of her. That's when I see her lips moving.

"Remus, can you read Ann's lips?" I ask.

Remus steps forward and starts repeating what she's saying.

"What made you think that you could hurt him like that? What has he ever done to you? He's your little brother too, and you just stand by and let him get hurt! You let our parents hurt him and scare him! I should just blow you to pieces right now! What the hell where you thinking?" Remus recites, "Ok, Tessa's talking now…You think you're so clever. Just because your daddy's dearest, his Atrum Angelis. I bet you don't even remember what that means. You don't remember the ceremony either do you? You're a disgrace to the Grimwoods, yet you're supposed to be the next head of the family!"

Shaking my head I notice the professors talking, and that Dumbledore has his wand out and looks like he's calculating a shot at Ann.

"This has to stop," I mutter, then head right toward the barrier. As I walk up to it there's a slight resistance, but I manage to walk right through it. When I do I can hear the conversation perfectly.

"SHUT UP!" Ann shouts, "Just shut up!"

"Face it Annalisa, you can't run from your family," Tessa sneers.

I carefully place a hand on Ann's shoulder, "She doesn't have to. Her family is here. It's Rowan, James, Remus, Peter and me."

Ann looks at me with wide eyes, "Sirius?"

"Yeah, I'm here. Let her go, she's not worth it. She's definitely not worth it," I murmur, hoping to calm her down.

Ann's eyes change from being a dark silver to a deep violet. Throwing her arms around me the pressure from the wind and energy balls are dropped and Tessa ends up falling onto the ground. I wrap my arms around her and can feel her breathing calm down. When we let go she looks around in surprise.

"What happened?" She asks.

I raise an eyebrow and smirk, "You had a temper tantrum."

She blinks, then raises an eyebrow, "No really. What happened? A second year doesn't have this much power."

I shrug, "Whatever, all I know is that when I came in you had purple and black spells flying around you, and no one could hear what you were saying, or get to you."

"But…how?"

"Don't know."

A throat is cleared nearby us and we both look toward the sound. Dumbledore is standing five feet away and is waiting. His eyes are still twinkling maddeningly.

"If you two would come with me, we can talk in private," Dumbledore says, then walks toward the doors of the Hall.

Turning to Ann I shrug and follow the older man, Ann right next to me.

"What does he want?" James asks.

"I don't know," I say, giving a small shrug.

Following Dumbledore up to his office I sit down and wonder if this is going to be different from the many other trips I've had up here.

"Would either of you like a Skittle?" Dumbledore asks.

I raise my eyebrow, "What's a Skittle?"

Dumbledore smiles, "It's a muggle candy that I found out about recently and am quite fond of."

"Oh…umm…no thanks." I give a slight smile and wait to hear what he has to say.

"Have either of you heard of the Guardians?" Dumbledore asks.

I shake my head, and see that Ann does the same.

"I did not think so. Well, I want to ask you to please watch your temper Miss Grimwood, it does not do well to have breakfast ruined for all students. And Mister Black, I grant you five points, for helping a friend in great distress," Dumbledore says, "You may go."

As we leave I notice that Ann's quiet.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just can't wait to see if Rowan is alright."

I frown, uncertain of almost everything.

~/~/~ Dumbledore's POV ~/~/~

**A/N: This is probably one of the few times that Dumbledore will have his own little section, but I oringally was going to use this throughout the story, but now it's a plot point for in my story _Breaking Glass_ and for the story that will launch from that one.**

I watch as Sirius and Ann leave my office and then lean back in my seat, deep in thought. It had been a long time since I had thought about the legend of the Guardians, but for some reason, those two made me think of it. Standing, I walk to my bookshelf and grab a very thin and very old book. Flipping to the middle of it I read the passage again.

_It is said that from the darkness shall rise the Guardians, masters of the Dark defending the Light. These Guardians are not simply distinguished by their lineage alone, but also by where their loyalties lie. They are born at a time when the world will be going through great trouble, and yet if the Guardians are not the solution to this trouble, they are merely the protectors. The Guardians are willing to give life and blood for their friends, but do not betray their trust, for it is hard to gain and harder to regain. The Guardians rise from the Dark, and use its powers for the Light, but they are not to be owned by the Light only by their own souls and spirits._

Sighing I wonder who the Guardians are and why I can't help but to wonder if Sirius Black is one of them. It would seem like it, but who is the other Guardian? I feel doubts that it is Annalisa Grimwood, I feel too much darkness in her. There's too much that is mingled in with her family and its magic for the Light to even make her a Guardian. Perhaps is it Remus Lupin. A werewolf is often known as a Dark creature, and maybe he is the other Guardian that the passage speaks of. He does not give his trust easily, that is for sure.

"Why does this have to be so difficult?" I mutter.

"Problems, Headmaster?" a voice says from behind me.

Turning I see that the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black is awake, "Unfortunately."

"Might I inquire as to what?"

I raise an eyebrow, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the Guardians would you?"

Phineas laughs, "That old tale? Of course I know about it, nearly every witch and wizard knew of it in my day, and yet the legend has died out by your time. Pity."

"Can you tell me what you know about it?"

Phineas sighs, "Of course. I know that a lot of the Pureblood families have always said that the Guardians shall come from their homes, and that they shall be of their blood, but no one knows. I do not know what has changed in your time, but I know that in my time there was a little poem that all mothers taught their children about the Guardians."

My interest peaks at the thought of getting somewhere, "What was the poem?"

"_ They walk a path, shadowed by the Dark,  
>Yet their origins should not be the only remark.<br>Follow the swift padding of Old Shuck,  
>And they will be found with much better luck.<br>They are, as you see,  
>Twins that nearly be.<br>__Along with one who keeps them free,  
>All together they make three<em>_  
>Do not forget the last rhyme,<br>Else the world shall turn to dust in little time.  
>Do not put them through undue toil,<br>For the Guardians are forever loyal._"

"That is what I know and other than some random pieces of information I cannot help you much further," Phineas explains, "I can tell you that with the Guardians that they will be more prone to using Dark magic against an enemy when they are outnumbered, in a bad situation or if they lose their temper. Might I suggest that you talk with someone who is good with magical prose?"

I nod, looking at the parchment which the poem had written itself upon, "I shall do that. Thank you Phineas."

Phineas nods and then leaves the portrait. I grab the parchment and then exit the castle in search of Minerva. I still find it hard to believe that Minerva is as good with poetry as she is with Transfiguration. Reaching her office I knock, knowing that she will be in at the moment.

Minerva opens the door enough for me to enter, "What do you need Albus?"

"I was wondering if you would like a small challenge. You see I have this poem about the Guardians, and I cannot figure out what it means at all. I know that you enjoy this sort of thing and think that it is right up your alley," I say.

Minerva nods, accepting the parchment and then she sits at her desk reading it a few times over.

"Well…what I get is that this should help you figure out who are the Guardians.'_They walk a path, shadowed by the Dark, yet their origins should not be the only remark.' _That seems obvious enough. They are people who are from a Dark background, whether of their own cause or not, most likely not as there is a reference to their origins, it should not be the only thing that people think of concerning these people." McGonagall sips her tea.

"'_Follow the swift padding of Old Shuck, and they will be found with much better luck._' That line is not as obvious. Old Shuck is also known as the hell hound, death dog, Padfoot and quite a few other names. Maybe it is telling you that these two people will be around a lot of death? Maybe it is also saying that when people are dying that the time is right for the Guardians to show.

"So far we know that people from a Dark background will be around a lot of death, in some way or another, but they should not be completely judged upon their past. '_They are, as you see, twins that nearly be.'_ Either the Guardians look a lot alike, or they act a lot alike. I would hazard a guess toward the latter more than the former. ' _Along with one who keeps them free, All together they make three._' A reference to the number of Guardians. I'm not sure as to what the line about keeping them free means. '_Do not forget the last rhyme, else the world shall turn to dust in little time._' So if the last rhyming couplet in this poem is forgotten then the world has a chance of being destroyed. What a happy thought. Finally, '_Do not put them through undue toil, for the Guardians are forever loyal._' Hmm… this probably means to not unnecessarily place them through trouble because if you do then you've picked the wrong people. And you find out that the Guardians are loyal." Minerva sits for a moment and looks at the ceiling not saying anything else.

I wait for a couple of minutes, "Well? Is it worth anything or is it all rubbish?"

Minerva looks up, "Oh, yes, it is quite informational, but I would not pick out who is and who isn't a Guardian based upon this poem alone. It is too vague, and much of it can be applied to many people. Is there anyone in particular you were thinking of as a Guardian?"

I smile, "Not at the moment, but I just came across this and figured you would be the greatest help. Thank you Minerva."

"You're welcome Albus."

I exit the room and walk around the castle in thought.

~*~ Ann's POV~*~

The train ride back is lonely and when I get to the station I have to stand in the cold and snow for three hours before they even remember to come and pick me up. So by the time that I get the house I feel like a bloody ice cube and can't feel my toes.

"You should have come by floo!" Mother snaps.

I sigh, "I tried, but the connection was blocked and wouldn't let me through."

Mother smirks, "Ah yes. I forgot that the floo was being fixed today. Go into your room and warm up for a few minutes, then go up to the library, your father wishes to speak with you."

I nod and give a slight bow before leaving. Once I get into my room I strip my wet clothing from my body and then put on some dry clothing. I then run up to the library and find that father is sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs by the fireplace.

"Father?"

He looks up, "Annalisa, come in. Have a seat."

I sit down, wary of what is going on, and I watch as he pulls out a black leather bound book.

"I know that I call you my atrum angelus, but I don't think that you know fully what that, plus what your name means," father says, opening the book and flipping toward the end, "So I thought that I might explain some of it to you.

"First of all, the atrum angelus in the Grimwood family is often the female heir and protector of the family, however there is something that must happen for the rite to be performed at the birth of the atrum angelus. I think you might know, or have realized, that atrum angelus translates to 'dark angel'." Father stops at a page in the book and shows it to me, "If you can read this, then you are truly my atrum angelus."

I gently take the book and place it in my lap. At first the page is just full of odd scribbles and then slowly it changes into actual words.

I swallow and start to read out loud, "_One reason why the atrum angelus is thought to be so powerful is in the way that dark energy from the universe collects around her. She is a natural magnet for it and she can use it a lot easier than others. This, when used as an energy source instead of her own energy, can make her magic more powerful and allows her to cast spells faster and for longer periods of time than other witches and wizards. The opposite, partner and the person who completes the atrum angelus's power is known as the __ténèbres ange._"

Father smiles for the first time in years, "I knew it. I knew you were my atrum angelus, Annalisa!"

I give a slight smile, "But what happens _exactly _for, or to, me now?"

"Well you do not have to go through the rite, which happened when you were four."

"What?"

"The rite to make it official happened when you were four."

My eyebrows come together, "What happened during the rite?"

Father sighs, "You were placed under a spell. Some of your blood was taken and added to some potion ingredients. Once it was complete the mixture was added back into you. As midnight struck there was a spell preformed and your magic was fused with mine."

"What?"

I lay on my bed, the last hour flying through my mind as I try to understand what happened.

_Some of your blood was taken…mixture was added back…midnight…your magic was fused with mine. _

I look up at the ceiling and wonder when the world decided to play this joke on me. When everyone thought that it would be so funny to make me the freak with a potion that contains my and my father's blood in it. After all, how else would he fuse the magic?

Shaking my head I get up, wrap my hands and then start attacking the punching bag in the corner of my room. This is the easiest way for me to stop being so stressed. Attack something, and I would rather beat up a punching bag than a person, though Tessa does make a nice target. A smirk and I give a couple of kicks before returning to jabbing at it.

My door opens and I notice that Rowan is coming downstairs. Stopping, I wait for him to get to the bottom before pulling him in a tight hug.

"I'm glad that you're alright," I murmur. It's the first time that I've seen Rowan since leaving that September. I feel him shaking and it takes me a moment to realise that Rowan is crying.

"I thought-I thought that you weren't coming back, and then mother and father stopped letting me write and I was locked in my room when I started asking questions. I kept trying to get some information, but they wouldn't let me do anything and I was stuck either up in my room or in training," Rowan explains.

My eyes widen, "What? They had you in training? Like how I go through training?"

Rowan nods.

My jaw tightens and I can feel my anger building, but I just lock it away for now, holding back and waiting for the right time to release it. I pull away and sit down in one of the chairs that I have in my room.

"I'll see if I can convince them to stop, if that's what you want. And if that's not what you want then I'll do it anyway," I grin.

Rowan chuckles, "Silly Gryffindor."

I nod, "You'd better believe it!"

"Can I take a nap? Every time that I try to fall asleep, mother or father is waking me up and I can't keep awake with just four hours sleep a night," Rowan says.

I notice the dark circles under his eyes and nod. Gratefully, he lays on my bed and closes his eyes. Within minutes he's in a deep sleep. I place a blanket over him and then head upstairs. I know that at this time of day father practices in the training room, so that's where I head to. Pulling my wand from its holster I enter the training room and immediately throw up a shield. I'm so pissed off that the spell father sends my way doesn't even budge the shield.

"Your shields are getting better," father says.

"What are you doing by training Rowan the same way that you train me?" I growl.

He raises an eyebrow, "Because you are not showing improvement. You are not showing that you are learning what is being taught. You know how to use the family magic, yet you don't. I am seeing if Rowan is any better."

I let out a growl, "You want to see how well I know the family magic? Fine!"

Father smirks, "I thought that this is what you would do."

We stand opposite each other and he lets out the first spell. I use a receiving spell to absorb it and send it back at him, along with a couple of bone breaking hexes.

A flick of his wand and they fly off, and then I'm starting to sink into some quick sand. Raising an eyebrow I cancel the spell and send _profundus incidere _at him. It hits his leg and he uses a blood clotting spell to stop the bleeding and hits me with _rompreos_. I feel my left arm break, but ignore it and use a couple of marionette jinxes on him. Flying up in the air I can see his confusion, until I cast _ignis_.

At first I think that he's going to be kept busy for a little while, but that's when the spells break and I feel a blast of icy air hit me and throws me back. Glancing up I see that he's animated the shadows around him, and that quite a few of them look like snakes and dementors.

"_Suscitatio umbra_," I growl and watch as the shadows around me take their forms. What surprises me is that when my shadows attack his, that they took the shape of the wolf and dog. As the battle wears on I can feel my rage abating, but I can also feel my callousness toward Dark magic growing.

~+~ Sirius's POV~+~

I wake up, brush my hair and teeth, then go into the study to grab the latest book that I was supposed to read and start reading. Of course the book is all about magic and different people who have specialties with Dark magic. Flipping through the pages I find my chapter and start reading again, this time about someone named the ténèbres ange. Supposedly this person is like the yang to the atrum angelus. It seems like a lot of folklore to me and I don't pay that much attention to it.

I hear the door open and turn to see who is coming in. Regulus hops next to me and smiles.

"What did you do?" I ask.

"Nothing."

Raising an eyebrow I look at him doubtfully. He rolls his eyes and then holds out a couple of chocolate frogs.

"Thought that you'd want one."

I smile, "Thanks Reg."

He nods and looks at the book that I am reading, "That looks very dull."

"You have no idea. It would be a better paperweight than a book." I place the book mark in it and set it on the side table, "So what do you want to do?"

"Want to play some chess?" Regulus asks, looking hopeful.

"Sure, you have the board?"

"All set up in the sitting room. Race you to it!" Regulus jumps up and takes off running.

I shake my head and chase after him, knowing that he'll beat me there and might beat me at chess. As I run along the hall I start forming a plan of attack in my head and get ready to play. When I get into the sitting room I see that the day to day set is out and sit on the end opposite of Reg. He's playing with the white pieces and I have the black ones.

"Ready?" Regulus asks with grin.

"Absolutely." I watch his first move and the game begins.

Watching the game progress has always been a fascination to me. It almost seems like a dance on the board, and all the pieces are performing different moves. Regulus ends up taking a couple of my larger pieces while I get a lot of his pawns. Glancing up at him while waiting for his move, I notice that as he's grown older he looks a lot like me, but he also looks more like mother while I look more like father.

He has her ice blue eyes and the same slope to his nose. And yet he has the attitude of Grandma Melania, which is a good thing because if he had the attitude of mother _or _father, then this household would be even more in trouble than it already is.

I notice his mistake when he makes his move and smile. Moving my queen I glance up at Reg, "Checkmate."

Regulus inspects the board before sighing and shaking his head, smiling, "I don't know how you do it. No matter how many moves I memorize, you always manage to beat me."

"Try playing on instinct rather than on what you've read in books." I set my side back up, and he does the same thing. This time I know that the game is going to be closer and am looking forward to it.


	15. Black Brother's Christmas Ball

I put on my dress robes and glance in the mirror. For once I look like a presentable version of me. Hair isn't too neat, but definitely not the birds nest that James calls hair, and all black clothing, excepting for my blood red dress shirt. Stepping out of my room, I head downstairs and hear Regulus's door open above me. Turning I see that he's wearing the same thing as me, but his shirt is a midnight blue rather than my red.

"Looking sharp little brother," I comment.

He smiles and ducks his head, he's still kind of used to looking like a little kid rather than as an almost teen.

I give a slight smirk and we descend into the kitchen, where our parents are waiting for us. Mother inspects our appearance and then gives a curt nod, "Very well, remember that we are going to the Ministry of Magic. If either of you make a mockery of this family then there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

"Yes mother," we say. Taking floo powder I watch Regulus leave first, then follow him. As I arrive the first thing that I notice is the smell. There's an abundance of pine, cinnamon, and other holiday smells in the air. The decorations are just as obvious, but also just as tastefully done.

I shake my head, "This is what I get for being dragged around by mother for seven years of my life."

"You noticed that affect too?" Regulus asks, a slight frown on his face.

I stick my tongue out slightly and then shrug, "I blame traditions."

Regulus chuckles, "So, who do you think is going to be at this thing? Anyone good?"

"I'm not sure, but I know that most, if not all, the old families will be here. Probably a bunch of ministry people, and whoever else received an invitation." I scan the room, trying to pick out any familiar faces.

"The Malfoys are here, so I suggest that we avoid the punch bowl for a while," Reg says, "And as usual the Crabbes and Goyales are stationed around like bodyguards. The Lestranges are in the middle of the room and Bellatrix is hanging of Rudolphus and Rebastion. Which one is she going to marry again?"

"Don't know, don't particularly care," I mutter, "Ugh, the Notts are here as well."

"Did you expect any different. Oh, the Potters are here as well, can we go hang out with James? Please?" Regulus asks.

I laugh, "Why wouldn't we?"

Weaving through the crowd, it's obvious to see who respects, who fears and who is unmoved by our family's legacy. From those who give a bow of the head, to those who back away with wide eyes, and people who don't even give Reg and me a second glance. When we reach the Potters we wait patiently for the family to finish their conversation with someone from the ministry and then I clear my throat.

James turns, "Sirius!"

I smile, "Hey James, Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Oh, I'd like you all to meet my brother Regulus. I don't remember if you were formally introduced."

Regulus gives a smile and nods to everyone, "Hello."

"You two look like you could almost be twins," Mrs. Potter says. Her eyes, which are silver blue, remind me that she was a Black before she was married.

I see Reg blush and place an arm along his shoulders, "Yep, and Reg will be going to Hogwarts next year too."

"Yeah, but I want to be a seeker on my team, not some stupid beater!" Regulus smirks, knowing what that comment will do.

"Hey! Beaters aren't stupid! Besides, I can be a beater or a seeker!" I reply.

James looks up, "Really? I didn't know that. I'm a chaser mainly."

"What do you mean mainly?" Regulus asks before I can warn him.

"Well I can also play keeper and seeker. I just don't have the build for a beater. I prefer being a chaser though," James says, then keeps droning on and on about Quidditch.

I shake my head and turn to Mr. and Mrs. Potter, "You know, I've been trying to avoid the subject of Quidditch since this fall. It had worked up until now."

Mrs. Potter laughs, "I understand how you feel. Charlus does not get the full effect of how…obsessive James can be over his Quidditch. Meanwhile during breaks I feel the full wrath of it."

"Now Dorea, it's not a bad thing for a boy to have a sport that he gets excited about. Muggles have football and rugby and sports like that, we have Quidditch," Mr. Potter says with a smile.

"Excited? No. Obsessive? Yes." Mrs. Potter sighs and then ruffles James's hair.

"Mum!" James complains and ducks from her reach.

I'm about to respond when I feel someone tap my shoulder. Turning I see one of the girls from school standing there.

"Yes?" I ask.

She blushes, "Would you like to dance?"

I want to refuse, but too many etiquette lessons cause me to nod and lead her onto the floor.

"I'm sorry that I'm not a good dancer," She whispers.

"That's alright. You'll do fine," I encourage and start to lead. The dance isn't too slow, which is a good thing, but it's not too fast, which is also a good thing. As I whirl around I try to remember who this is, but I can't seem to recall who she is or even what house she is in. As the song ends I give a slight bow and walk off the floor still confused.

"Hey James, who was that girl? I can't remember her name, what her house is or even what year she's in, but I know that I've seen her at school."

James looks up pauses for a moment before nodding, "That was Jenny Bones, she's a second year in Ravenclaw. We used to have History of Magic with them on Tuesdays last year."

"Oh, I knew she looked familiar," I shrug, "Too bad she kept stepping on my toes."

"I didn't know that you could dance," James comments.

I roll my eyes, "Of course. I've been taught since I was seven."

"Yep, but Bellatrix hated it when she was partnered with you. She kept complaining that you couldn't learn the movements properly," Reg smirks.

"Well, that's not my fault."

James raises an eyebrow, "Why?"

I glare at Regulus and he bites his tongue, "Let's just say that I was at a major disadvantage."

"Whatever, so what are we doing when we get back to school?" James asks.

"Well I want to look up about the Guardians. I heard something about them recently and I don't remember what mother and father had told me about them," I explain.

"The Guardians? Sounds like a con to me. But whatever you want to look up is your business, just don't start acting like Remus. We don't need two bookworms in our group," James warns.

"If by our group you're including Ann, then we already do. You know that she and Remus read the same amount of books," I remind James before turning to Regulus, "Sorry if you're bored."

"Nope, I'm just making sure that Cissy and Lucius don't come this way. Aww…come on! Bellatrix is coming!" Regulus says and dives into the crowd.

I give a grin to the Potters, "Sorry, but we've got to run!"

Following Reg, I weave in and out of the different crowds and keep track of where Bellatrix is. Glancing around I notice a large Christmas tree nearby, grab Regulus's collar, and lead him into it. Sneaking through the branches we sit on the floor near the trunk and wait for her to go by.

"Somehow I don't think this is a very comfortable position, what do you think?"

I turn at the voice and see two red haired boys watching us. They look like twins, probably eighteen or so.

The other shakes his head, "Not comfortable one bit. Fabian, I say that we help these two poor souls out, what do you think?"

"And excellent suggestion Gideon!" The first twin, Fabian, agrees and they both pull out pillows and hand them to us.

"Now," Gideon says, "Might we ask a question?"

"It's a simple one, really," Fabian continues.

"To whom-"

"Do we-"

"Owe the pleasure of our company?" They ask.

I look over at Regulus and he has his eyebrows raised. Clearing my throat I turn back to the redheads in front of us.

"I'm Sirius, and this is my little brother Regulus."

The twins glance at each other, "Like the stars? Nice! Well, what are you doing under this beautiful tree?"

"Hiding from our cousin," Regulus says, apparently over the tangent twin talk.

They nod, "We're hiding from our younger sister. She has a temper on her like you wouldn't believe." They shudder, "Anyway, we were wondering if you wouldn't mind taking a couple of objects off our hands? We don't need them and to be honest, they're taking up cupboard space."

Reg and I glance at each other for a moment before I shrug, "Sure, why not?"

The twins grin, "Excellent."

Handing me a large brown paper bag they motion for me to open it. An assortment of prank objects are stashed inside, and some include rare Zonko's products.

"How'd you…?" I start to ask.

The twins hold up a hand and recite, "Ask no questions, receive no lies. Have fun boys!"

They leave and I turn to Regulus, "Well, what do you think of our new friends?"

"Not too sure of what to think. This is the first time that I've ever met twins, it's a bit odd how they were able to finish each other's thoughts." Regulus gives a yawn, before looking at the items, "What are we going to do with them?"

"Save them I suppose, it wouldn't do any good to use 'em now. Their sister might know what items they had and then realize what happened when the items are used and the twins aren't at the scene," I say, "But…it would be a shame not to use them. How about half?"

Regulus grins, "Yeah!"

After dividing up the pranks that we wanted to use, the two of us sat on opposite sides of the tree's trunk so that more of the people here could enjoy the pranks. We count to three and start using them. A couple of the firecrackers end up turning into frogs in midflight and the fireworks make quite the lightshow above the party. Some spinning tops cover the partiers with disappearing paint, which causes some people to go crazy when it gets on their good robes and dresses.

Looking over at Regulus, I watch as he laughs at a man who does not realize that there is a neon purple frog on his top hat.

"Come on, let's get out from under here before someone catches on." I nudge him and we cautiously leave the shelter of the tree. Hiding the rest of the prank items in the various pockets of our robes we walk to the buffet table and stack a couple of plates with food. Once we're seated at a table in the corner we can watch for family and talk a little bit.

"So how are we sorted when we get to Hogwarts?" Regulus asks.

I swallow a bit of turkey, "Well, there's a hat that sits on a stool in the Great Hall during the ceremony. You'll be called up one by one, and Professor McGonagall will place the hat on you. After a little bit of the hat searching through your mind and looking at your personality, it will place you in a house. Anything you hear about having to battle trolls or fight a dragon is complete rubbish."

"What about," Regulus pauses, "The houses themselves? I know all about Slytherin, but I mean, what are the other houses like?"

"Well I can really only give impressions of the other houses. Ravenclaws are really smart, but since they tend to be the smartest students in the school they tend to be a bit snobby and standoff-ish. They have an ok Quidditch team, but they rely on a lot of good tactics. I know that they are the only other house that has their commons above ground and I think they're in a tower like Gryffindor is. Hufflepuffs are way nicer, but they are also really gullible. The Hufflepuffs also really like to gossip about anyone and everyone, which sometimes makes them a pain in the arse with the other houses. Their Quidditch team is excellent with teamwork and they use a lot of complex moves because of how well they fly. Their commons is by the Kitchens from what I hear."

Gryffindor is obviously the one house I can tell you a lot about. Gryffindors are bravest, but we're also the most reckless, and we have horrible tempers. Our Quidditch team is not the best this year, but last year was fantastic because we had a lot of talented people playing. Quite a few really good fliers. We have our commons in the tower that holds the painting of the Fat Lady," I explain.

"Why is the painting called the Fat Lady?"

I smile, "Because she is fat. I don't say that to be mean, but she really is. I don't know what her real name is or if she even has a real name, but we call her the Fat Lady. The paintings in the school are pretty useful, but never, ever insult or do anything that could be considered rude to Peeves. Reason is that he can actually be a really good ally, but the moment that you mistreat him he will turn on you."

Regulus nods, "The main thing I'm worried about is what house I'm gonna be in."

I shrug, "Who knows? Slytherins aren't _that_ bad, but they are rather…prejudiced. They do have a couple of good qualities, such as they stick together and help their first years out, and they have a Quidditch team that is about as good as Gryffindor, but the Slytherins also try to cause a lot of trouble with the Gryffindors."

Regulus nods and I can see the worry in his face.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You'll be sorted and it will be no big deal. I don't care what house you end up in, so long as you try out for the Quidditch team when you can, talk to me on weekends and don't turn into an annoying git," I say with a grin.

Regulus gives a slight smile, but still fidgets. I sigh and look around for something to distract him. After being unable to find anything I just start flicking my peas at him. At first he can ignore the small green assailants, but when they start bouncing off his forehead he can't stand it anymore.

"Alright enough! I give!" He waves his napkin in front of his face, which blocks the vegetable from hitting him. Laughing he manages to whack a couple back at me with his spoon and then I'm out of peas.

"Aww come on! Really?" I pout, "I'm out of ammunition."

Regulus sticks his tongue at me, "Too bad. Oh, why haven't we seen Ann or Rowan? I know that they were probably invited to this thing."

I shrug, "Don't know. Maybe their parents came and left them at home. I know that if they are here they're probably hiding like we are and are just talking. They wouldn't be doing much right now. Have you heard from Rowan lately?"

"I got a letter apologizing for being unable to write. It said that he had been grounded for a while because he broke something really important, but I don't believe it. Rowan's too careful to break something," Regulus says, "But I can't do anything about it."

"Help who you can, those who you can't, offer help anyway. That's what our DADA teacher told us last year," I pick up a cherry and take a bite.

Regulus nods and scowls at the cherries on my plate, "How can you stand to eat those?"

I raise an eyebrow, "What do you mean? Cherries are fantastic!"

"Ummm….no, they really aren't."

"Blasphemy!"

"My sincere apologies."

"Sarcasm does not become you."

"And? What do you expect from you being my older brother, Mr. King of Sarcasm?"

"For you to be the polite one."

"Like that's gonna happen."

"Oh it will, trust me oh brother of mine, it will."

Regulus laughs and leans back in his chair, glancing around the room. He finishes scanning the area by the dance floor before sitting properly again. I place the seed from the cherry I was eating onto my plate and watch the room from the corners of my eyes. Not much is going on, and to be frank, I'm surprised that neither mother or father has found or bothered us.

Maybe this will be a good Christmas after all.


	16. Suspicions and Fuzz Balls

~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

I look up at the castle and sigh with relief. I hate leaving Rowan behind, but I love being able to get away from the house during the school year. Flexing my right hand, I ignore the bandage I've got wrapped around it and lug my trunk into the place I call home.

"Ann!"

Remus comes running down the stairs and meets me at the door, giving me a hug once I let go of my luggage.

"Hey Remmy!" I smile, "How were your holidays?"

"Not bad, not bad at all. So did you find out what was going on with Rowan?" he asks, knowing that was what I was really going back for.

I nod, "Yeah, and the situation's been taken care of. I'm going up to the tower, have they changed the password over break?"

Remus shakes his head and walks alongside me. My trunk floats in front of me, and I am glad that I managed to come back a little before break is totally over, or else there would be way more people in the halls.

"Did you get my present?" I ask.

"Yes, and I thought that I told you not to get me anything!" Remus snaps, pretending to be mad.

"So sorry." A pause, "So did you like it?"

"Loved it! _Muggle Aromatherapy, a Wizard's Guide _is a book I've been wanting to read. It has a lot of information on different potions that are based on aromatherapy and how they can help with stress, pain and sleeping. I'm thinking of making a potion for Sirius's sleeping," Remus muses.

I stare at Remus, "You make a potion? Are you trying to kill him?"

Remus pouts, "Just cause I can't brew potions…."

"It's not that!" I sigh, "It's that half of the potions that are used to help sleeping have potion ingredients that you are…allergic to! They could kill you! If you really want to make him a potion to help his sleeping then at least let me help, cause I don't need anything bad happening to one of my best friends."

"Alright, I'll have you help. I feel bad for not getting you all presents before you left."

"Well, you can get the guys presents made up before they come back, and then they wouldn't have to know. Just tell them that the school owls went on strike or something." I pull my scarf around my neck a little better and glare at the windows, "Why does this castle have such bad drafts?"

Remus raises his eyebrows at me, "It doesn't. Ann, I think that you're going crazy."

"How can I go somewhere I'm already at?"

"Point," Remus conceited, "Just wondering, what is the nationality of your family?"

I glance at him with mild amusement, "Well, other than being English, we're also Irish and Romanian. I'm not sure about anything else. What brought this sudden interest up?"

"Well, I heard someone say how people from different nationalities react to magic differently, and that made me wonder how someone with a bunch of nationalities would react to magic," Remus explains.

"I've never heard of that, but whatever," I shrug, "So what did you do over break?"

"Not much, caught up on some things and then tried to figure out what the guys had planned for when they get back." Remus glances out a window before jumping a trick staircase.

Following his example I jump the stair and continue on, "Since you don't know what they have planned, how about we work on something?"

"No, Ann, come on! You know that I really don't want to do a prank!" Remus tries to plead unsuccessfully.

"Liar, I know that you enjoy the mayhem and chaos as much as the rest of us do. Besides, wouldn't you love to pull one over on the guys?" I hope that will give him a slight nudge in the right direction.

Remus gives a smirk, "Fine, but where do we plan this prank of yours?"

"Empty classroom in the charms wing. It's the one near Boggle the Bold's portrait, I'll see you there in a few minutes, ok?" I ask, waiting for his answer to go into the tower.

Remus nods, "Sure, meet you there!"

I enter the tower and then go into the my dorm and start to put my stuff away. I notice my records on the floor and smile, grabbing the one that I want I bring it, along with a necessary book, to the room. Remus is there already and has a plate of sandwiches.

I hold up a finger, before he says anything, pull out a small box from my pocket and un-shrink my record player. Placing the record on it, I place the needle on the vinyl and smile as the song starts to play.

_"__I'll wait for you till I turn blue, there's nothin' more a man can do. Don't get your bollocks in a twist! Settle down, don't take a fit! Ya drank with demons straight from Hell, they almost nearly won as well! Ya wiped the floor with victory, then puked until you fell asleep!"_

Remus's eyebrow come together and he gives a slight grin, "What is that?"

I look at him with wide eyes, "Don't tell me that you don't recognize Flogging Molly! Godric, they're a classic!"

Remus shrugs, "They aren't that bad, I guess."

"Aren't that bad, please!" I scoff, "Let's work on this prank now, eh lad?"

"What are we doing?"

"I was thinking that we could cause the plates to tap dance," I explain, "But if you want something easier than we could always cause people be engulfed by a bubble that causes them to sing until the charm wears off."

"What part of that is easier?" Remus shakes his head, "Let's do the tap dancing plates, with any luck we'll have time to do the other serving pieces too."

I smirk, "Excellent!"

~*~AG~*~

Later that night, Remus and I get up and start for the Great Hall. It's lucky that we're both able to avoid patrols well or we'd have been caught twice already. Remus gives us plenty of warning and I always manage to get us hidden in the shadows nicely. By the time we reach the Great Hall, we know that we shouldn't take that long to work, or else the boys will come down looking for Remus.

"So what do you want to do? The timing spell, or the animation spell?" Remus asks.

I think for a moment, "I'll do the animation spell, you're a tad better with the timing spell than I am."

"Right."

Getting to work doesn't take that long, but it's finishing the work that's the problem. It takes a lot more magic than originally thought and, though both of us have plenty of raw magic, we're only two second years. Finally though, the spells are done and we both slump against the Gryffindor table with exhaustion.

"That was a bugger," I say.

"That's a bit of an understatement Ann," Remus sighs, rolling his eyes, "Let's go back to the tower for some sleep."

Nodding I follow him upstairs and into the tower before splitting off and going up to the girl's dorm. My head hits the pillow, and I'm out like a light.

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

Waking up, I glance at James's bed and then at Peter's and Remus's. They're all fast asleep, and I'm the first one awake, for once.

"Well, that's just annoying," I mutter, "If I have to be up, they might as well suffer with me!"

I slip from my sheets and creep over to James's bed and, waiting for a moment, jump up onto his mattress.

James lets out a yell, and then glares at me, "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing Black?"

I grin, "I'm your alarm clock this morning!"

"You want to know what I do to rubbish like an alarm clock?" A moment later we're wrestling and mock fighting, I notice that we're getting precariously close to the edge of his bed, and a moment later we fall to the floor.

"James, get off of me, you great hippogriff!" I moan. He had landed just right and was compressing the air from my lungs.

"Sorry," He says, not sounding sincere about it one bit.

"Bugger," I mutter.

"Why does it always end up in a fight with you two?" Remus asks from his bed.

James shrugs, "'Cause we can. I dunno. Remus, are you feeling ok, you don't look too well."

Remus looks away and nods.

I frown at him and glance at the window. It's open just a crack, allowing the cold winter air in, "No wonder why. Someone left the window open, and it was freezing outside. With your bed right next to it, there's no wonder why you look sick."

"Your bed is right next to it as well," Remus points out.

"Yeah, but I also placed a heating charm on my blankets the moment it turned from cold to beyond freezing," I point out, grabbing my blanket I toss it to him, "Here, you're staying in bed today. We don't need you getting any sicker."

"But-!"

"No, you aren't arguing your way out of this one!" I frown at him and narrow my eyes slightly.

Remus sighs and rolls his eyes, "Fine, but only so long as I get to go down for meals. It's a Saturday, so people will expect me to be studying anyway."

I nod, "Alright. But you have to stay up here otherwise. Any snacks that you want can be retrieved by us."

Remus falls against his pillow, and uses his wand to levitate a book to himself. He snuggles down and gets ready to start reading. James and Peter go into the bathroom to brush their teeth and I gather my things to do the same.

"Hey Sirius?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

I glance at him, "You're welcome Remmy."

There's a knock at the dorm door and I raise an eyebrow. Stepping over, I open the door a crack to see who it is. Ann is tapping her foot, hands behind her back and a grin on her face. I open the door and allow her in.

"Morning!" She chirps.

"Are you feeling ok? You hate the mornings." I check to see if she has any sugar on her, but don't see any.

She shrugs, "I can't help it. When I get exhausted I get hyper and that causes me to actually be awake and personable in the mornings. Remmy, are you feeling any better?"

Remus blinks and shrugs, "Eh, something tells me that this is going to get worse before it gets better."

I watch as they chatter back and forth about some book that they both read.

"Hey, when did she get here?" James asks.

"A few moments ago. Listen, I have an idea for a prank for when we're older," I tell him.

"Why wait until we're older?" James asks.

I smirk, "Because right now I think that the magic level is a tad above your head Jimmy."

James flushes, "Did you just call me Jimmy? Don't do that! My Aunt Olivia calls me Jimmy right before she pinches my cheeks! It's horrible!"

My grin grows, "Oh _really_ now?"

James realizes his mistake and takes off running, while I chase behind him, laughing and trying to grab his cheek.

~+~SB~+~

As we sit down for breakfast I still have a huge grin on my face. James's left cheek is redder than if he had just stepped in from outside and he's glowering at me.

"Just you wait. I'll get back at you!" he threatens.

I wave off his threats and look up as the mail starts to stream in. I notice the family owl, a huge black Blakiston Fish Owl, one of the largest in the world and rarest, circling, before diving down at me red envelope in hand.

"Damn it!" I mutter and grab the envelope as it falls. I wonder if I should leave it or open it. Finally I shrug and open it.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK! HOW DARE YOU PLACE THAT SPELL MODIFIED FROG SPAWN ON THE CHINA AND SILVER USED FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS? THOSE ARE VALUABLE HEIRLOOMS THAT HAVE BEEN IN THE FAMILIY FOR GENERATIONS! I HAD BETTER NOT HEAR THAT YOU ARE MAKING MISCHIEF AT SCHOOL OR ELSE YOU WILL REGRET IT DEEPLY!" Mother's nail on chalkboard voice sounds through the hall, "JUST KNOW THAT YOU ARE ALREADY IN A GREAT AMOUNT OF TROUBLE WHEN YOU COME HOME!"

I watch as the letter tears itself up and then grab some bacon from the dish in front of me.

"What are you going to do about that?" James asks nodding toward the pile of ash that's in front of me.

I sweep the ash off of the table and then shrug, "What can I do? It's no big deal, besides she'll probably forget by the time we leave for summer holiday. Although, I am surprised that she was mad enough to send a howler. I would have thought that she would avoid that to keep up a good image."

"Though I have to ask," Ann says, "Why frog spawn?"

I grin, "Because it was readily accessible and all my dung bombs were here at Hogwarts."

She chuckles and nudges Remus with her elbow. The boy had been starting to fall asleep and his forehead had been half a foot from hitting the silver porridge dish. His eyes widen and he looks at us in confusion before nodding and going back to his food.

I give a slight frown and let the incident file away with the other oddities that have happened around Remus.

~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

Later that night I'm cleaning out my trunk and I come across a book that I hadn't seen since last year. It's the creepy one with the crescent moon on it and the color changing ink. Sighing I open the book and sit back to read it.

_Only those who are granted the privilege may read this book. If you are not one of the ones that it speaks to then you must put this book down. If you are one of the privileged then please continue._

Frowning I turn the page, stretch and go back to my reading.

_In the world of magic there is the obvious, the hidden and the ever present. Most witches and wizards can manage the spells and power of obvious magic, it is what is taught in the schools. A fewer number of witches and wizards can use the hidden magics, the magics that are often said to be "wandless" and use the magic that resides within nature and the elements. These can be either learned abilities or natural abilities. Every witch and wizard uses the ever present magic at one point in their life, but then almost all stop after being taught to use the obvious. When a child does underage magic, they use the ever present magic, the magic that flows through them._

_ In this book you could learn about these magics. You could learn how to use these magics. How to identify these magics, how to defend against these magics and how to best uses these magics with those that you already know._

I get ready to flip the page when the door to the dorm slams open and bounces off the opposing wall. Evans comes stomping in, and then slams the door shut.

"Oooh! I cannot believe those two! Those-those-IDIOTS!" Evans rages.

I sigh, deciding that I won't be reading anytime soon, "Calm down and explain what on earth you're talking about, or shut up so that I can read."

Evans jumps and stares at me, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Well one, this is my dorm, and my bed. Two, I was reading. And three, I am currently deciding whether or not to hex you," I explain as though talking to a small child.

"I know that already, Grimwood. I was wondering why you're here and not down with those horrible boys!" Evans growls the last part, glaring at the door to the dorm.

"I'll have you know that I don't spend my every waking moment with them," I drawl, "If I did they would drive me even further into my insanity, and trust me that would not be a good thing. Now, will you please explain what is going on or please shut up."

Evans sits on the edge of my bed, "They were discussing something and then my book was spelled out of my lap and levitated to the ceiling. I tried to get it back, but they wouldn't let me have it. Finally I just hexed them and they had the nerve to go to McGonagall. I just got a detention because of them! AND they still ended up turning the entire of the Gryffindor commons bright red and sparkly."

"Did they now?" My eyebrows raise, "They'd told me that they weren't going to do that until next week."

Evans turns an odd shade of red, just a couple of shades off from her hair color, "You knew that they were going to do that? And you didn't STOP them!"

A shrug, "Why would I?"

"You-you-UGH!"

"Must you be so loud? Honestly, whatever happened to decorum?" I ask. I knew that it wasn't right to take out the fact that I was in one of my moods on Evans, but she was perfectly available at the moment and had interrupted my reading.

She gapes at me like a goldfish, "What?"

I sneer, "Isn't it obvious? Whenever you're involved with one of the Marauders you lose all decorum that you have had and start to turn into some crazed girl. This is simply not in your character from what I've noticed up until now. Listen to me Evans, you need to pull yourself together, or else I will hex you!"

This seems to gobsmack her and I roll my eyes, "Come on Evans! Stop running with your tail between your legs and snap and fight them like the terror you are!"

Her green eyes narrow before she stands and walks from the room and downstairs. In a moment I can hear her voice floating up to me and I smile, realising that it's going to get much louder and cast a silencing charm. Picking up my book again I turn the page and gasp at the next paragraph.

_Annalisa, or Ann as you prefer, when you read this book you will learn about how to use, identify, defend against and mix your standard magic with the hidden and always present magics. It is our wish to help you learn and grow through the learning of these magics, however, before you learn you must allow Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter to read up to this point in the book, and then after everyone has been informed you will only read while together, for these types of magic, while dangerous for adults, are deadly for children._

I jump back from the book and stare at it with wide eyes, and then do the only thing that seems logical at the time.

"SIRIUS!"

~+~ Sirius's POV~+~

"SIRIUS!"

In the middle of Evan's ranting, I hear my name yelled and my head turns to the direction where the yell came from. I see Ann come running out of the girls dorm, right at me with wide eyes. She brushes past Evans, grabs me and James and then takes off running out of the commons.

"Sorry Evans, but I need the boys for a while!" She shouts over her shoulder while then tearing down the hall to the unused classroom that the five of us often gather in. Without saying a word she shoves a book at me and James, and then begins to pace. Glancing at me, James gives the look of 'What's up with her?'. I shrug, not knowing what caused her to freak or anything.

Opening the book we both read through the first two pages and I can feel James's shock permeate the air.

"What-what does this book mean by hidden and present magic? I mean I read the description and everything, but I don't know what it means exactly!" James mutters.

I clear my throat, "Well, as far as the hidden magics goes, the book could be referring to animagus and metamorphous magic, but it could also be talking about mage magic."

"Mage Magic?" Ann asks.

"I'm surprised that you don't know about it," I shrug, "Well take a seat kiddies and I'll explain. Mage magic is a supposedly dead branch from long ago. It comes from families who would pass down the specialties of a branch of magic, usually dealing with one of the elements or something of that sort. There are the Elemental mages, Light, Dark, and Blood mages. The rarity actually is in that order too, with Elemental mages being the most abundant and Blood mages the least. As people began to learn different branches of magic, mages kind of just died out. There are people who claim that they used to have mages in their family, of course, but it's extremely difficult to prove. It is known that the founders of Hogwarts were all mages."

"Does anyone know what they were mages of?" James asks.

"Well naturally that's a debate that is held throughout the Wizarding world. Everyone is positive that Slytherin was a Dark Mage, and they know that Hufflepuff was a Light Mage, but they're still uncertain as to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw." Sirius give a small chuckle, "Some people say that they were Elemental and Blood Mages, but they don't know and cannot say which was which. It isn't doubted that the each of the founders was a different mage, but people still cannot think that Gryffindor was a Blood Mage, even with all the evidence pointing at it."

"Gryffindor as a Blood Mage?" Ann asks, raising an eyebrow slightly.

I nod, "That's what it looks like."

"But-Blood Mages are evil!" James says.

"Of course that would be the one thing that you think of when it comes to mages," I mutter, rolling my eyes, "Ann, do you want to beat him or shall I?"

Ann smirks, "Allow me."

James looks at Ann with wide eyes, wondering if she's going to literally beat him.

"James," Ann says in a sweet voice, "magic is not black and white, good and evil. It is actually quite grey, and depends upon the user."

James opens and closes his mouth, "But I know that there's Dark Magic."

Ann nods, "Yes, there's Dark Magic, but that doesn't mean that it's evil."

"I think we'll explain this later. Can we go show Remus that book now?" I ask.

"NO! err- Remus wasn't feeling too well, as you know and went to the Hospital wing to rest, and I don't think that we should disturb him," Ann hedges.

James and I glance at each other, "What are you not telling us."

"Ummm….I had a brownie today?"

~+~SB~+~

I pace in our dorm as James and Peter watch. It hadn't been too long after her brownie excuse that Ann had taken off running, probably because she knew that we were about to tickle charm her, and neither of us were able to go up into the girls dorm. So we are now in what we like to call the Marauder's den, James placed a sign with that name on the side of the door that was inside the dorm, luckily, he thought that placing it on top of the plaque that had our names on it as a rather idiotic thing to do. I had, tactfully, decided not to comment, and Remus had nearly died of shock at that.

"Sirius, mate, you're giving me a headache, would you quit with the pacing?" James moans.

I shake my head, "No, there's something that we need to figure out, and I know that Ann knows what it is and I know that it involved Remus. I hate secretes."

"If you hate secrets, then why are you a part of a group that does secret activities in the dead of night?" Peter asks, sucking on a lollipop.

"Because, for one thing, the secrets aren't being kept from me, only from the rest of the school. And B, because I actually enjoy pranking people."

"You do realize that you numbered then alphabetized two different things in the same list, right?" James asks.

"Whatever," I wave a hand dismissively. My mind whirls as I try to think of all the different things that could cause Ann to be so protective of Remus. There had to be something going on that we all didn't know about.

"Well, anyway, since Remus decided to visit the hospital wing without telling us I say that we should get back at him," James says.

I give a devilish grin, "Leave that to me."

~+~SB~+~

The next day, when Remus comes walking into the room, I place the final spell on his bookshelf, which is strictly off limits, Marauder's rule # 17, and sit on my trunk.

"Hey Remmy, feeling better?" I ask.

Remus nods and sits down on his bed, looking like he ended up stuck between two hippogriffs in the middle of a cat fight. I wait in anticipation for a moment and then start grinning like a loon as the prank begins.

First it's a bunch of lights, then a spell that pulls Remus to his headboard, lays his blanket on top of him and fluffs his pillow. The next charm takes effect and brings out a bunch of chocolates, hidden around the room, to dance around Remmy's head. He watches with wide eyes and an look of I-want-to-laugh-but-should-wait on his face. That's when some of the pillows near the window transform into a fully operational tea set with nice hot tea in it and floated to his side table. A moment later and the bookcase pulled out and tosses the book that he's currently reading to his table. The moment it's above the wood it slows and then floats to land gently on the table top.

Remus raises his eyebrows, "That's the best you've got?"

I smirk, "Wait for it."

Red and gold sparklers appear out of nowhere, light and then spell out the words 'Relax for a Day, we've got you covered.' They then end with a slight pop, turning into a bunch of fluff balls with eyes that stare at him with the best cute factor that can legally be charmed into something that starts out so damn cute to begin with.

"Awww! They're so cute!" Remus says, picking one up and chuckling as it purrs.

I chuckle upon my plan coming to light and watch as Remus totally ignores his book for one of the fluff balls. They all soon latch onto him and start purring so much that they start to vibrate. This causes Remus to laugh and I smile widely.

"Success!" I cry, leaping into the air.

"Success with what?" Ann asks as she enters the room.

I point to the fluff balls with an evil grin. She looks them over and picks up the only dark purple one. It looks at her with its big grey eyes and then does something unexpected.

"Ah-choo!"

"Are these things supposed to sneeze?" she asks.

I shrug, "Dunno. Maybe that one's the preverbal black sheep."

Ann chuckles, "That explains it. So what do you say little bugger? Wanna stay with me? If it's alright with Remus of course."

Remus shrugs, sorting through the little fluff balls.

The little ball blinks rapidly before curling up and making a little 'choo' noise.

"You know," Ann says, "This little fuzz ball's eyes remind me of yours, Sirius."

I shrug but am unable to respond because of Remus.

"Sirius, I think you need to take this one away."

"Why what's wrong with it?"

"Look at it! And it's growling!" Remus exclaims holding out the offending fluff ball. It's another odd one. Instead of being a nice light in color and being nice, it's a black furred red eyed menace who manages to give a pretty mean glare.

I jump from the bed that I'm on and take the black furred fluff ball from Remus. It gives me a glare, it's little red eyes trying to scare me, but I merely raise an eyebrow at it. It starts to growl and I chuckle.

"Come on little guy, is that the best that you can do?" I ask. I watch for a moment and then let out a curse when the thing bites me, "It bit me! The little bugger bit me!"

Ann smirks, "I think I have an idea of what to do with this guy."

Hand it to her, "Have fun."

Ann gives an evil grin at the little black fluff ball, and I actually see the thing shrink back in fear. Ann walks from the boys dorm, murmuring to the little fluff ball, and as she shuts the door, I see the little red eyes go wide and it starts to chatter to the purple one.

Remus and I shudder, "That's not good."

~+~SB~+~

Heading down to the lunch with the guys I wonder where Ann went. My question is soon answered when she joins us and is smiling evilly.

"Do we want to know?" James asks.

Ann merely grins.

"That's not a good grin. That's a very, very bad grin," Peter says.

Turning the corner to the Entrance hall we soon see why she's smiling so. Tessa and Bellatrix are both cornered by the black fluff ball. This normally would not be a big deal, especially seeing as that the thing is only about the size of my palm, but it was growling especially loudly.

"What did you do?" Remus asks.

Ann smiles, "Some of the sixth years needed help with their charms work, so I had them use an amplifying charm on the little guy, and then they used a spell that I am particularly proud of."

"Why?"

"Oh, just watch."

I notice that Bellatrix tries to sneak away, but then the fluff ball enlarges so that the thing is taller and wider than both of the Slytherin girls combined. When it growls again there's a small rumble that follows it.

"Of course, there's one small side effect."

"What?"

"It's practically impossible to get rid of the little bugger now. They've been trapped there for the last half hour trying to get rid of it, and the teachers have gone to see if they can find any information about it in the library," Ann shrugs, "It's hilarious. Oh, they're gonna try again, watch this!"

We watch as both girls try to use every curse, hex and spell that they can, without being expelled of course, to try and get rid of it. The large fluff ball doesn't end up damaged one bit. In fact the thing starts laughing at them and at the charms hitting it.

I couldn't take it anymore and just start laughing my head off. As we enter the Great Hall I have to use James's shoulder to hold me up, as I keep laughing. Too bad that I didn't have a camera, Bellatrix's face had been priceless!

**AN/ I realize that Flogging Molly wasn't around in this time. Let's just pretend that they were. Either that or they were a Wizard band that eventually went public with muggles. I can tell you, not the last time you'll see them.**


	17. Questions Anyone?

I smile as people keep looking around with wide eyes, trying to figure out where the prank would come from. Little did they know that today would be the only positively prank free day. After all it seems rather clichéd to prank people on April Fool's day. The Marauders agree, and they always spend the day planning other pranks and looking back at pranks that had been pulled in the past. The only bad thing about today is that it's also a full moon, which would normally seem odd, but this month happens to be a Blue moon month, and Remus was grumbling and throwing a silent fit about it. And I can't help but to agree that Fate seemed to have it in for him.

"Ann!"

I glance up and then sidestep James, who was slipping in the mud and had lost control and then smile at Remus.

"What's up?"

"Nothing much, just didn't want you to end up buried in mud."

I chuckle, "Thanks. So what rubbish are the boys up to now?"

"Hey!"

"Oh, they have this strange urge to turn the entire school into a bunch of human sized canaries," Remus says with a shrug, "Tonight's not a good day for me though, so they're putting it off until next week. That'll give them time to master the spell a little better."

Sirius catches up, "Yeah, but this little bugger won't tell us what's keeping him from helping with it today."

Remus avoids any further discussion, but I notice that Sirius seems to be thinking it through and then there's this look of dawning realization.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius gasps, oddly enough with perfect annunciation. He turns to Remus, then to me with wide eyes, "He…what...and you…tell us!"

I blink rapidly, "You know Sirius, if you want us to understand you then it would be better if you actually took the time to form a sentence rather than just sputter gibberish at us."

James stands next to Sirius and frowns. They seem to have a silent conversation before James's eyes widen and his jaw drops. He then looks between Remus and me quickly and repeatedly.

I place my hands on my hips, "All right, what is going on?"

Sirius and James grab me and Remus and drag us off to the side of the castle, away from prying eyes and ears. Once we're hidden, they both stare at us with wide eyes.

"She figured it out didn't she? And you couldn't tell her that she was wrong."

"Meanwhile, you didn't tell his secret due to thinking, rightfully, that it was not yours to tell."

"And you for some reason did not think to trust us with this secret."

I turn to Remus, figuring out what they were talking about, but wanting to be able to deny it, "What in the world are they talking about?"

Remus, catching on shrugs, "Not a clue, maybe they've finally gone round the bend."

Sirius finally throws his hands into the air in exasperation, "Remus! Give it up! We know!"

Remus blanches, "Know what?"

"We know about your…furry little problem," James cuts in.

"Furry little problem?" Remus asks, "That's what you're calling it? Cause it's a little more than just a problem."

James shrugs, "Well what do you want me to call it? Your time of the month?"

"Ah, no. Furry little problem is fine."

"Although that would explain why he gets titchy once a month," Sirius pipes up.

Remus huffs, "Are you quite through?"

"For now."

"Thank Merlin," I mutter, "How did you figure it out?"

"It wasn't too hard, once the signs started adding up, but I think that we'll be the only ones to really figure it out since we are the only ones who are pretty much around Remmy twenty four seven for the entire time we're at Hogwarts." Sirius pulls out a lollipop and pops it into his mouth.

James bites on his lower lip for a moment then pulls Sirius away.

"What do you think that was about?" I ask.

"I don't know, but I'm not expecting them to be my friends for much longer," Remus says, glancing up at the stormy sky with distain.

"Well if they aren't then it's their loss," I start heading toward the castle.

"What are you doing? We've got Herbology."

"Eh, I'll get the notes from Sirius and James. Come on, I want to play a game."

"What kind of game?"

"Ever hear of the game Questions?"

"No," Remus's eyebrows come together, "What's that?"

I smirk, "Oh, this is fun! It's usually taught to people that will help them with their argumentative skills and help them to think quickly on their feet. The rules are pretty easy. Let me explain to you and then we can have fun with James and Sirius."

"They know how to play?" Remus asks.

I nod, "They should. I doubt that they wouldn't have been taught. Come on, let's sit in here and practice."

**AN/ in this section I am going to use the first initial of each character so that who said what can be obvious. The game Questions is very fast paced and I want to keep something of that in the section where it starts, so there won't be he said and she said nor will there be quotation marks. Thank you!**

~*~ At dinner that night~*~

A to S: Want to play Questions?

S: What is that?

A: You've never heard of Questions?

S: Why would I have?

A: Why wouldn't you?

S: When do we start?

A: We've already begun.

S: No statements! Point.

A: What are you eating?

S: What are you drinking?

A: What does it matter?

S: Why won't you tell me?

A: Why should I tell you?

S: Why do you keep secrets?

A: Who's keeping secrets?

S: You are!

A: Statement! Point-tied.

S: Why weren't you in Herbology?

A: Did you miss me?

S: Did you forget something?

A: What's there to forget?

S: Have you forgotten already?

A: Forgotten what?

S: Synonym, two to one.

A: What's your name?

S: What's yours?

A: Don't you remember?

S: What?

A: Didn't you hear me?

S: Can you repeat that?

A: Didn't you understand me?

S: Who could understand you?

A: What's there to understand?

S: Rhetoric! Game to me.

S to J: Did you understand that?

J: Understand what?

S: What's going on?

J: Didn't you pay attention?

S: Can you recap?

J: Why should I?

S: It would be nice.

J: Statement, point me.

S: Why's your hair so messy?

J: Why shouldn't it be?

S: Are you happy with it like that?

J: Do you like your hair?

S: Why wouldn't I?

J: Do you realize that it's getting long?

S: Did you know that your hair looks like a bird's nest?

J: No it doesn't!

S: Statement, tie.

J: Who started this?

S: Umm…

J: Hesitation, two to one.

S: Where's McWhiskers?

J: Do you mean McGonagall?

S: Who do you think I mean?

J: Why do you ask?

S: Why don't you?

J: What's it to me where Minnie is?

S: Because she's standing behind you.

J: Statement, game to me.

M: Detention Mr. Potter. What did I tell you to call me?

J: Sorry Professor McGonagall.

M: Statement, point me.

J: huh?

M: Grunt, two points.

J: How in Merlin's name are you doing that?

M: Rhetoric, game to me. (McGonagall walks away with a slight grin)

J to R: Did you know she could play?

R: Why did you assume that she couldn't?

J: Who said I assumed?

R: You know you did.

J: Statement, point me

R: When is our potions essay due?

J: What essay?

R: Weren't you paying attention?

J: Do I ever?

R: Why is that?

J: Why is what?

R: Where is what?

J: What do you mean?

R: Can't you tell?

J: What should I answer?

R: Yes or no?

J: Only two options?

R: Do you deserve more?

J: Would I deserve less?

R: Would you deserve less of what?

J: What?

R: Can't you keep up?

J: How are you so good at this?

R: Why wouldn't I be?

J: When did you learn to play?

R: What does that matter?

J: Why should I tell you?

R: Why do you care?

J: What makes you think I care?

R: Who would care?

J: Who did what?

R: What was done?

J: Aren't you listening?

R: Listening to what?

J: Did you hear the music from a few nights ago?

R: Where was it playing?

J: Where was what?

R: What was where?

J: Wait, what?

R: Can't keep up?

J: You pulled a Sirius!

R: Point to me for a statement.

J: What in Merlin's name is going on?

R: Rhetoric, two to one.

J: What's your favorite finger?

R: Why do you ask?

J: Why do I axe?

R: Are you deaf?

J: Am I dead?

R: What is your name?

J: Don't you remember?

R: Did you tell me?

J: Are you listening?

R: Am I what?

J: What do you want?

R: Who wants to go where?

J: Can I go home?

R: Where's your home?

J: What home?

R: Haven't you got one?

J: Why does it matter?

R: Ummm….

J: Hesitation, two to two, point match.

R: What chocolate frog cards are you missing?

J: Am I missing any?

R: Didn't you say that you were?

J: Why would I say that?

R: Why wouldn't you say what?

J: What are you talking about?

R: Who was talking?

J: _What_ are you talking about?

R: Point! Game to me.

(End game of Questions)

Remus grins and I give him a high five, "Very nice job young grasshopper!"

"You taught him how to play?" Sirius asks, "Then why didn't you last longer?"

I shrug, "I wanted Remus to show his awesome skills. He can play very well."

"Well I was taught by someone, by my standards at least, who is among the best," Remus replies with a grin, "So I thank you for teaching me a great game."

As we finish dinner Sirius pokes me and nods towards the door. I pick up a brownie for dessert and follow him out into the hall.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Do you remember that one night during winter break during first year? When you grew your ears and I talked with you about being a natural animagus?" Sirius asks.

I nod, "Yeah, why?"

"Because I want to know if you have any other pieces of information about being an animagus."

"Why do you want to know? Wouldn't you be better asking McG?" I question.

"Probably," Sirius concedes, "But we would rather not be caught, if you catch my drift."

I finish my brownie and sigh, "Tis a difficult process. Even with being a natural, I find it hard to become a full fledged animagus."

"Ah, but you don't have the genius of Sirius Black to help you!" Sirius grins.

"You know, I don't understand why people say that you've got a large ego. You're the epitome of humility," I drawl, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius shrugs, "What can I say? It's a gift."

"Alright, well as far as making the transformation I know that it usually takes people ten years to do it. There's a lot of meditation and soul searching involved because you have to find the animal that is connected the most with your soul. Plus there's something about needing to adjust their magical core to accept this part of them," I explain, "There are a couple of books on the subject."

"Is it too much to ask if you've read them recently?" Sirius asks, his voice hopeful.

I smile, "Sorry, I haven't read anything on animagi in years."

"That's fine…ok, I'll see you later." Sirius then leaves at a run and I frown, wondering what he's thinking about and why he's suddenly so interested in Animagi.

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

Closing my eyes, my hand moves to rub them and I remember one of the reasons why I don't like reading for such a long time. My eyes tend to hurt.

"Sirius, are you alright?" James asks.

"Yeah. Just give me a moment," I mutter.

"You might want to get Madam Pomphery to look at your eyes if they're bugging you," Remus says, "What are you reading anyway?"

"At this exact moment? The inside of my eyelids." I can imagine Remus rolling his eyebrows and giving a sigh.

"I meant, what book are you reading?"

I yawn, "Nothing too important, just a book on advanced transfiguration."

"Something tells me that I should question this more, but I'm not going to, so feel grateful," Remus mutters.

I place a book mark at my spot, set it in my trunk and then get ready for bed. I once again have time to reflect on how oddly small our year is, especially for the boys. After all, there are only four of us, and then out of the girls there are only six. In the other houses there are at least six boys and eight girls. The Ravenclaws have the most, fifteen boys with eighteen girls, and the Hufflepuffs follow, fourteen boys and sixteen girls. The Slytherins have another small group, six boys and seven girls.

"But I'm not kidding, you should have your eyes checked to make sure that you don't have any eye problems when you're older. Wizards are great, but they don't have any potions for eye health," Remus says.

"Actually, they do," I counter, "It's just that the potion is illegal to use due to the great harm that it causes users. Plus the ingredients used in it are highly dependent on if you have myopia or hyperopia."

"How do you know so much about this?" James asks, "It's not like you to read."

"Ha, ha," I mutter. Opening my eyes I note that everything is slightly blurry, but not too bad, "And just so you all know reading is practically all I do over summer break. It's the only thing that I can do without chancing mother yelling at me." I close my eyes again and rest, but when no one speaks up I crack open an eye to see everyone looking at me.

"What?"

"Sirius, mate, what are your summers really like?" James asks.

My mind flashes warning lights at me and I keep my face semi-blank only letting my tiredness to show through, "Eh, it's not that bad. Why?"

"It's just..it seems like every time you mention something about your home, it's something that you didn't mean to mention. You hardly ever talk about your family and we don't even know much about your family, except that your brother Regulus is one of the members of your family that you're close to," James says.

"And?"

"Well, we get worried."

I roll my eyes, "You don't have anything to worry about. Nothing happens."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're lying to us?" James mutters.

"I don't know James. Maybe you're being overly paranoid?" I lay back in bed, pull the sheets over and turn over onto my left side, facing the door to the dorm. I am grateful for my friends, but sometimes I really hate how observant they are.

~+~SB~+~

I sit in the Hospital wing waiting for the Matron to finish up with her exam. I was finally convinced, nagged to death seems like a better term, to come for an exam by Remus and James. They kept saying that if I didn't watch it that I would end up like James and in need of glasses to wear all the time. At best right now all I'll need are reading glasses. Way to make me feel like an old man.

"Well Mr. Black it would seem as though you are slightly hyperopic. Your eyes are not that bad right now, but if you plan on being extremely studious" insert incredulous look here, "then I suggest getting a pair of reading glasses so that you strain your eyes less."

I frown at the thought, but then realize that it would be a good idea to get a pair. If I'm going to be doing a lot of reading on animagus and how to become one then I'm going to need to be able to read for long periods of time without bugging my eyes. Letting out a sigh I nod.

"Ok, if you think that's best."

Madam Pomphery looks slightly surprised, but then flicks her wand at me and mutters an incantation. A moment later and a pair of glasses are resting on my nose and I blink. She sets a book in front of me.

"Well? How are they?" she asks.

"Fine, in fact they're actually pretty good."

"There's a very slight prescription to these. If you are still having problems then come see me and I can adjust the prescription as needed," Madam Pomphery says.

"Thank you." I jump off the bed and walk out, placing the glasses in a pocket of my robes. Once I'm outside the boys flank me and start asking questions.

"What did she say?"

"Are you far or near sighted?"

"Did you get glasses?"

"Are they thick or thin?"

"How long did the tests take?"

"Alright, enough!" I snap, "I'm farsighted, have glasses with a slight prescription, and the test only took five minutes!"

There's silence for a moment before I hear footsteps at the end of the hall. Looking up I see Ann walking toward us with a large black tail, dog ears, and a collar that says 'mutt' on it.

"What happened to you?" James asks.

Ann shrugs, "Got into a bit of an argument with Tessa. Trust me, I look a hundred times better than she does."

"Why isn't she on her way here?"

Ann gives a wicked grin, "She's a little busy at the moment. She's stuck at the top of the entrance hall."

"And how did you get her up there?" I ask.

"She's been threatening me lately, so I've taken to carrying certain potions with me. She just so happened to get hit with a feather light serum."

We start laughing and Ann gives a mock bow.

"Well if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get these ears and tail taken care of."

We nod and let her go into the Hospital wing. Walking outside I notice that the spring air is really taking effect. It's nice outside and there really isn't a need for a coat.

"So what are we going to do?" Peter asks.

"We could always work on our homework," Remus suggests, not really putting any effort into it. He knows that it will never happen.

"I say we work on Operation Aquarium," James says.

I roll my eyes, "Not that again. Come on James, surely you can think of something better than turning the school into a large aquarium. At least wait until we're older and can actually manage that magic!"

"What do you suggest then?" James asks.

"Why not just talk with the suits of armor and Peeves and get them to distribute some dung bombs, itching powder and Dye Powder around the school in various places. There's a charm you can use on the Dye Powder that will make it impossible to detect," I remind them.

"That's not bad, but we need something else," Remus mutters. We all stare at him with wide eyes and shocked faces.

"What? It's a little tame for the Marauders, don't you think?" Remus says, defending himself.

I place an arm along Remus's shoulders, "We never thought that you had it in you. What are you thinking?"

Remus grins, "There's a spell that will allow us to place personalities on objects. I suggest we place it on the doors."

"And how difficult is this spell?" James asks, a smile starting to form on his face.

"Not very, I think that we all could have it perfected by Friday the latest."

I grin and give a light chuckle, "Excellent."


	18. Second Year Leaves with Problems

I subtly watch Sirius as he reads the book he borrowed from the library. Sirius hardly ever reads, and that's what has me so interested in this new habit. Meanwhile, I'm reading my own book, _Protección __encantos_, and keep a watch on him out of the corner of my eye. As we near the end of the school year he seems to get even jumpier, though, to be honest, I completely understand why. People talk about going home, and I know that where he's going isn't a home. I know it, but can't say anything because I can't help him if he won't let me.

"Ann, can I talk to you?" Remus asks.

I nod and follow him to a corner of the common room.

"Do you know what's going on with Sirius and James? They seem a bit tense." Remus bites his lip.

I shrug, "I don't know. I know that they're planning something, but I haven't been told anything. I know that Sirius is probably slightly tense because of the end of school coming up, but other than that I couldn't tell you."

Remus frowns, "You all know that I'm good at reading people, but...for some reason...I can't read them."

"Can't or won't? There's a difference and when it concerns your friends I think that you won't read them because you want them to trust you enough to open up to you on their own," I explain, "Don't worry about it. Oh, I have a book I need you to read really quickly, then meet me in the charms room that we used when I got back from winter break."

I hand Remus the book that whispered and then walked over to Sirius. Glancing at the title of his book, _Advanced Transfiguration_, I nudge him. Sirius looks up.

"Come on, it's time that we get going on our extracurricular studying," I mutter, "Can you go get James?"

Sirius nods and goes upstairs, returning only moments later with James who is bouncing on his feet. I roll my eyes and lead the way to the charms room that was dusty and tucked away in a forgotten wing of the school. I only knew it was an old charms room because those were the text books that I found in the bookshelf.

Remus is sitting in the center of the room with the book to the side and he is obviously thinking about something.

"Well, what are we going to do? Just sit here or are we going to actually take the time to find out what's going on?" James asks.

Remus looks up, "How long have you known about this book?"

"I've had it since last year," I shrug, "Anyway we need to get started reading this and finding out what it means."

I don't tell them the reason why I want to get going so quickly. I don't tell them about the nightmares I keep having. There's no reason to tell them about them.

"Alright, who wants to start reading?" Sirius asks.

"I will," James says and grabs the book.

_I am glad that the four of you have decided to take this path rather than just set this book on the shelf. I think that the four of you should realize now that your individual magic will mix differently with what I am going to teach you. You all have different shades of magic, some of you are really dark and others are lighter._

"What does that mean?" Remus asks.

Sirius turns to me, "Do you want to explain or should I?"

"Why do we always debate who should explain?" I shurg, "Fine. Remus, I'm going to tell you right now, that James probably has the lightest shade of magic because he hasn't been around magic that's darker in nature. That's what the book means."

_The first thing that you all will learn about is hidden magics. These are easier than the always present magics. One of the more prevelant hidden magics is that of Animagi. The hidden magics deal with being able to connect with your magical core and harness that raw power. The ability to harness this power will make your magic flow more readily when you need it. In order for you all to gain this ability you must be able to focus all your energy on this core. The easiest way for this to happen is through meditation. However meditation can be different for everyone. Use the way that you can use to calm your thoughts to reach your core. You'll be able to tell when you reach it. Once you've done that, then you can continue reading._

"There's nothing else written," James says.

"So we have to meditate? This is a waste of my bloody time," Sirius mutters. He then gets up and walks away.

I frown and wonder what is going through my friend's head.

~+~ Sirius's POV~+~

I know that it bothers them that they don't know what's wrong with me, but I don't tell them because I don't want their pity. I know that they would be willing to help me, especially James and Remus, but I don't want pity or sympathy or anything.

_You know that you're going to need help eventually but you're too stubborn to admit it. You're a Black through and through aren't you?_

Shaking the thoughts away I keep walking down the hall, but unfortnuately my thoughts follow.

_You won't tell them that you got a letter from your parents, and that's why you're worried. You've masked your feelings successfully, yet they still know something's up. That you aren't looking forward to break from school. _

I scowl and lean against the stone wall, pulling the parchment from my pocket. It's the latest letter from my parents.

Sirius,

News has reached us of how you have been behaving. We are not pleased. Take note that when you come back home that you will have to work on your spell work. We will not tolerate any of your laziness anymore.

I scowl, not even bothering to finish the rest of it and set the parchment to fire. Watching with a certain amout of sadistic glee, I wish I could do that to my mother's best robes, I don't hear the footsteps in the hall, and don't see her before it's too late.

"Come along little cousin," Bellatrix purrs as she grabs my upper arm in a vice like grip. She drags me down into one of the abandoned rooms of the dungeons. Once we are in the room she throws me and I hit one of the walls with my shoulder. Clamping my jaw down I ignore the pain and stand again, glaring at my eldest cousin.

"What do you want Trixie?" I ask, goading her into losing her temper. I know she hates that nickname, hence the reason I use it.

Bellatrix snarls, "I just want to remind you that even though I'm not coming back at the end of the year that there will be people here who will be watching over you. Even if you are in the house of Blood Traitors, you are a Black."

"Are you done with your message Trixie? Can I leave now?" I ask, impatient at being dragged to the dungeons for something that I could have been told in the halls.

"Actually," Bellatrix smiles, as she fingers her wand, "There's _so_ much more Aunite and Uncle wanted me to remind you of."

My eyes widen and I force them back to their normal diameter. Glancing around the room, I note that the door behind Bellatrix is the only way out of the room. _Damn._

"-so how about we ge started?" Bellatrix finishes. Apparently she hadn't noticed that I wasn't paying attention.

Feeling the blood drain from my face, I pull out my wand and throw up shield after shield, all the while knowing that I'm going to be in a world of pain.

~*~ Ann's POV~*~

Remus and I are walking down one of the halls in the dungeons, don't ask why we'd rather not recieve detentions, when Andromedia comes running up to us looking panicked.

"Andy, what's wrong?" I ask.

"You need to come help me! Sirius is being hurt and I can't get into the room that he's in! I saw Bellatrix drag him in there and have been trying to get in, but can't. Then he started yelling and I took off running, looking for someone. You have to help me!" Andromedia says quickly.

Remus and I nod once and follow her at a run. When we arrive at the door Andromedia tries to use a couple of unlocking spells, including a few that I'm positive are quite illegal, but to no avail.

"You're going to have to teach me a few of those spells," I say and pace, "I don't know what to tell you, this isn't my area of expertise."

"I know of a spell that we could use," Remus pipes up, "It requires three people, so it would be perfect. If this doesn't unlock the door then I don't know what will."

I pull out my wand and jump at the sound of Sirius's yells-no scratch that-screams of pain coming from the door.

"Explain away Remmy, and quickly," I growl, "There's a Slytherin bitch I want to take care of."

"Alright, Andromeda, take the lead. Ann stand to her right. Ann, I want you to work through the magic that's surrounding the door. I know you can worm your way through it. Andromedia, you have to start breaking down some of the wards. I'm going to actually work at the unlocking, but without the wards and other pieces of magic being taken out, the door won't unlock," Remus rambles.

I nod and start undoing the magic around the door. I can hear Andy muttering under her breath as she uses some rather intricate movements with her wand. Tilting my head I come across some really dark magic. Frowning I keep working at it until it goes horribly wrong and the spell explodes on me. I'm thrown back and hit my head on the stone wall. Pain floods my system and I black out.

~+~ Sirius's POV~+~

I'm on the floor and pain is all I feel. I can hear Bellatrix cackling somewhere above me, but I don't care anymore. Opening my eyes I see that my wand is only two feet above my head and reach for it. Once I feel the wood in my fingers I push away the pain and throw one of the most violent spells at Trixie that I can think of.

It hits her and she's thrown backwards by the spell and once she climbs out of the rubble of desks glares at me, blood dripping from various wounds. Before she can do anything though the door bursts open and Andromedia comes in, wand out and steel in her eyes.

"Bellatrix get out of here," Andromedia says, her voice low.

Bellatrix narrows her eyes. It's a tough decision. After all they are fairly matched with power, Bellatrix knows more spells, but Andromedia is more inventive with how she uses her magic.

"Be careful sister of mine," Bellatrix whispers, "There will be a day when there is no help, and you will regret everything."

As Bellatrix leaves the more Slytherin side of me takes a moment to flick my wand at her, allowing a timed spell to attach itself to her and seep in. For once father's incessent ranting about learning the family magic pays off.

Andromedia sneers at Bella then helps me up, "Come on, you're going to the infermiry. Maybe you'll get a bed next to Ann."

"What happened to Ann?" I ask, worry tinting my voice.

"Bellatrix's magic was infused with the spell she used to lock it. Ann was working at breaking some of those spells when it blew up on her, literally, and threw her into the wall." Andy shakes her head, "Girl's lucky that Remus isn't the lightweight he looks like."

I give a chuckle, but then have to stop as I almost fall headfirst up the stairs.

"Damn Siri," Andy mutters, "What did she do to you?"

Appreciating the fact that Andy is worried about me enough to swear _and_ call me 'Siri' I take a breath before answering.

"I'm not too sure, she used silent casting, so I couldn't hear the spells she used."

I hear Andy's huff of annoyance and she doesn't say anything. I rack my brains, trying to think of what she's not saying in hopes that I'll figure it out myself and almost groan in frustraition at my idiocity.

"Sorry Andy, she performed qite a few of the family spells that she could get away with. I think that she used _calor sanguinis, timorem ferre, __lacertosus incendia_, and a couple of new ones that I didn't recognize," I tell her.

Andy nods, but keeps helping me to the hospital wing doors. Waiting outside is Remus.

"You didn't tell Madam Pomfrey that I've helped, right?" Andy asks.

Remus shakes his head, "No I haven't."

"Good, keep it like that. Make sure that he gets the help that he needs. All right, I'm going to go modify Bella's memory now!" Andy says in a faux cheerful voice.

Remus looks at me with raised eyebrows.

I shake my head, "My entire family has a hate-despise-tolerate thing going on. Sometimes _we_ don't even understand why we do the things we do."

"Right." Remus rolls his eyes and heaves me into the infirmary where, sure enough, my bed is placed next to Ann's and I fall asleep.

~+~SB~+~

I roll my eyes as James flies around the room, packing his trunk with the little things that were thrown all over the place.

"You know," I drawl, "You wouldn't have to run around the place if you kept all of your things by your bed instead of spread throughout the dorm like you do."

James rolls his eyes, "Sirius, you just don't understand do you? I relax while I'm here. That means that I have the time to spread all of my things where ever I so please."

"Whatever Jamesie, whatever."

James glares, "Don't. Call. Me. Jamesie."

"Ok," I smile and step outside of the door, "Whatever you say Jamesie."

The door shuts in time for a shoe to hit it and I laugh. Everyone is packing to head home, and I'm trying to avoid thinking about it. In the common room I see Ann coming down from the girl's dorm looking rather annoyed.

"What's up?" I ask.

Ann scowls, "I have one last dose of potions to take from Pomfery."

"Why?"

"Pomfery apparently thinks that the magic was too dark for my system and decided that I needed to detoxify. Little does she know that the dark magic in my system kept me safe from the magic trying to invade my system," Ann mutters, eyeing the older kids by the fireplace, "How can they stand sitting there this late in the season? It's entirely too warm!"

I shrug, "Come on then, mustn't make the Pomfery mad. I swear that woman was a Hufflepuff, have you ever come across a mad Puff? I suggest that you don't, it's not a pretty sight."

Ann mutters something under her breath, but before I have a chance to ask her about it she ducks into one of the passages and is gone before I have a chance to ask her what that was all about. Heaving a sigh I continue down the hall and make a detour to the library, knowing that Remus will be there and he will be able to entertain me.

~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

I lean against the wall by the hospital wing and take a couple of deep breaths, trying to control my heart rate and slow the blood pumping through my veins after my sprint to the hospital wing. I know Sirius is going to be confused by my sudden disappearance, but I can't tell him that I've been receiving rather…disturbing letters from my family. Some from Rowan, begging me to come back as soon as possible, and some from mother and father, saying that I've overstepped my boundaries and am in for a heap of trouble, never the less these letters, plus my dreams have made me rather cold toward socialization at the moment. I close my eyes and the images come at me quickly.

_Lily and James dead their bodies with cuts on them. Remus looking at me with a glare like what he would give to those who hurt others for no reason. Sirius being alive, but looking as though he was dead. Rowan lying on the ground dead with Tessa standing above him, laughing._

I shake my head, dislodging the thoughts and enter the hospital wing. Sure enough the head matron hurriedly gives me the potion before rushing back to some poor Ravenclaw who ended up with moose antlers attached to her head. Chuckling to myself I take the potion and leave the hospital wing, with the hopes of not having to come back for an exceedingly long time.

The only warning I have is the erratic pounding of feet on the stone floor and I take a step to the left, allowing James to run into the hospital wing door.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"You have to help us find Remus. He went missing and we know he was taken forcibly." James says, slightly breathless, as he jumps back onto his two feet.

"What do you mean?"

"We found his books and whatnot in the library at his favorite table. We searched the library, but couldn't find him. After a while a Hufflepuff came up to us and told us that he had been taken by some people."

"Do you know from what house?"

James shakes his head, "No, they weren't wearing any house colors."

I frown, "Then we're going to have to split up in teams of two. Where are Sirius and Peter?"

"They're up by the astronomy tower. Sirius had the same idea as you and they decided that since I run fastest that I'd come find you and we could start in the dungeons," James explains hurriedly.

I nod and we run to the dungeons, searching through every room to try and find Remus. Through the dungeons, the ground floor, and even up to the charms floor we can't find him. On the fourth floor we meet up with Sirius and Peter and the four of us are searching the place. We're in one of the old classrooms when I throw my hands into the air.

"We've searched every place that we know of! Where the hell is he?"

"Hey Ann," Peter says, looking as though he suddenly came up with an idea, "Why don't you just turn your nose into that of a wolf, maybe you can smell him."

James, Sirius and I turn to each other with raised eyebrows and simultaneously face palm.

"Good thinking Pete," James says, and I nod, turning as much of myself into a wolf as I could. Sniffing the air I shake my head in a negative and turn back.

"Come on, I'll sniff on the main stairs, hopefully I'll catch the scent."

James nods, "Here, use the invisibility cloak, that way no one sees you."

Thanking him, I throw the cloak on and immediately head for the stairs, turning my snout into that of the wolf as we jogged. Finally I manage to smell him on the fifth floor. I pull on their sleeves and start heading in the direction where the smell is strongest. Turning down an obscure hall, the smell leads us to a broom closet. James unlocks the door and Sirius uses the counter-jinx so that Remus is able to move. He flies out of the closet and grabs the two boys in a hug, muttering extremely fast.

Turning back to human, I pull off the cloak and look at Peter. He looks about as relieved as I am, but also slightly awkward. I walk to him and place an arm along his shoulders, Pete looks at me in surprise, but I just shrug and nod to our three friends. Remus isn't overly hurt, a couple of bruises and a cut or two, but other than that it seems more like it's emotional trauma.

Catching Sirius's eye over Remus's shoulder, I notice that the grey eyed boy looks furious. The only way anyone could tell is by how cold his eyes have turned. I nod once and glance at James, long enough for the same thing to happen, only James looked like he wanted to kill someone.

"Pete," I mutter, "Would you be willing to help us…remind whoever did this to Remus, why they shouldn't mess with us?"

Peter looks at me and nods once. I grin and place the cloak back over me, turn my nose into that of the wolf's and give a few sniffs. Once I have the scents memorized I think back and make the connections. Turning back to normal I uncover myself again and give the three boys who will be helping a malicious grin.

~*~AG~*~

I lean back and wipe my brow. Scrubbing the hospital wing from one end to the other was a pain in the neck, but the detention was worth it. As I take my break, I get the chance to see the boys work on their ends of the room. It had been worth the night to get back at Snape, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyale, and Avery for being asses to Remus.

Smirking at the mental image of the five of them having to pogo stick everywhere, red and gold streamers attached to the back of their robes, their skin turned bright pink and being forced to sing 'The Lollipop Guild' every time they tried to say something against Gryffindors or any of the other houses, I get back to work. No matter what anyone said, having Evans as a roommate could be dead useful.

_"Well," Lily mutters, "I think the hardest way for a person to travel would be by pogo stick. It's a muggle toy that is used to hop around on." Lily further explains the device, "Why do you want to know?"_ She had yelled so much after she found out what happened, but once again, totally worth it.

~*~AG~*~

Scowling I finish scrubbing the baseboards of the bathroom and glare at the surrounding room. I've been back from Hogwarts for a week and yet it feels like it's been a month. What makes it even worse is that we're going to be leaving in a few weeks to go to the Grimwood ancestral manor. Located in one of the forests of Scotland, it's also one of the largest homes that bears the Grimwood name. Currently my grandparents live there, and if my parents are nutters then my grandparents are going to make life hell. Since we'll be out of the house, mother wants the place cleaned spotless before we leave, hence the reason that she has me on house elf patrol.

I throw the sponge into the bucket and move onto the next room. While working I try not thinking about what I could be working on. For one thing there's that book Remus, Sirius, James and I are trying to get through. None of us have yet to reach our core, but bets are that Remus is closest, as he is able to meditate before bed every night. Or I could be practicing my animagus transformation, or my martial arts, or even my dueling.

"Bloody bitch," I growl. Luckily, father has been rather busy with other work and has not been able to schedule training sessions yet.

"Annalisa! Come down here this instant!" Mother screeches.

I set the bucket down and quickly head downstairs, bowing slightly as I enter the room mother is in. Once I am standing straight again, I notice that she's looking at me with a slight frown.

"Yes mother?"

"Have a seat."

I blink in surprise and hesitantly make my way to a chair. Once I'm seated she seems to nod.

"Annalisa, there is something that I have to tell you, since you are obviously not reading my letters carefully enough." Mother scowls, "Now, you might have heard rumors about a group of people who are at the center of ministry investigations for disappearances. This group of people is being lead by a man who is the Dark Lord."

Something triggers in my mind, "You mean Voldemort?"

"Do not speak his name!" mother snarls, "You have no right to speak his name!"

I keep my mouth shut, but I can feel my annoyance starting to build again.

"Anyway," her voice turns 'pleasant' again, "these people have been planning on ridding the world of muggles and those of non-pure decent. Tessa is very interested in his plans and ideas, in fact the family feels that he has the proper agenda for purebloods. As such the Dark Lord has agreed to come to our home for dinner this evening, so you must make sure to be properly dressed for the evening and be sure that Rowan is properly dressed as well."

I nod, not really knowing what to do. This guy will probably just be another one of mother and father's political people, someone who is trying to push their agenda in the ministry and is trying to get the votes from the main houses in the Wizingamot or whatever he's trying to do.

"Good. I want you to clean the emerald dining room. Make sure that there is no dust in there and that all the furniture is polished. Pull out Great Grandmother Melamine's china and the silverware that goes with it. Polish the silver and set out the crystal goblets. Make sure that there are fresh candles in the candelabras," Mother instructs, then dismisses me.

**AN/ Hey ya'll, sorry this update is so late, but Spring Break came and I just kinda didn't care to update for a bit. Only two chapters left! Please review!**


	19. Red Eyes before Magic Meeting

At a quarter to seven thirty, the time which our guest will arrive, I put the finishing touches on the dining room and retreat to my room to dress. It's all formal wear tonight, so I automatically put on dress trousers and shirt along with the robes that have the family crest embroidered on them. My wand is placed in its holster, which is then strapped to my wrist. Other than wands there are to be no weapons at the dinner so my knives are left on my bedside.

"Ann, father's waiting for you," Rowan says as he comes downstairs.

"Of course. Come here, let me make sure that your hair is going to behave." I pull him over and fix the strand of hair that is being delinquent. I narrow my eyes at Rowan as I notice something.

"You've gotten taller," I accuse him.

Rowan grins, "Well, duh."

Shaking my head, I grab a black silk ribbon and use it to tie my hair back. Once that's done we head upstairs and I immediately stand to father's right. Within moments, the doorbell rings and the new house elf, Sasha, answers. Bringing the guests into the parlor, I get my first sight of Voldemort, and can feel my skin crawl. It's not that he is horrible looking, it's that he looks downright creepy. With blood red eyes, dark brown hair, and pale white skin that is nearly translucent he looks as though he could use a good couple of days in the sun. But even that isn't what gives me the willies, it's the dark magic that comes, quite literally, pouring from this person. Guarding my emotions, I wipe my face blank and keep a watch on him.

"Lord Grimwood," he greets, "Thank you for inviting me to your home."

Father nods, "It is my pleasure to invite you here my Lord. To introduce my family, this is my wife, Celestra, and my eldest Tessa. The young man standing next to Tessa is Rowan, my youngest. And next to me is Annalisa."

I give a bow, but quickly return to full height, knowing that it would be unwise to leave my back open to this man. He smiles at me, and I just nod my head.

"I assume they attend Hogwarts, what year are they in?"

"Tessa just graduated, Annalisa will be entering her third year and Rowan will be a first year."

Voldemort grins, "And it is Annalisa who is in Gryffindor, correct? Such an interesting outcome, especially from someone who I would have assumed was a Slytherin."

I hold my tongue at that comment and just wait, knowing that they'll soon start talking about something else and that I will be able to try and keep a watch on this Voldemort guy.

"Yes, Annalisa has always been slightly different from the rest of the family. Then again she is also the atrum angelus and protector of the Grimwoods, so that is expected."

"Really? I've read a bit about your family's tradition as to how that goes. Maybe after dinner you would be willing to give me a demonstration of what you know?" Voldemort asks, turning to me.

From the tone of his voice, I can tell that it's not an actual request, but more of a cleverly hidden demand. I can also see that father is waiting for me to accept and that Tessa is bristling at being left in the shadows.

"Certainly," I reply, "Perhaps you would enjoy a friendly duel between Tessa and me?"

"That would be fantastic."

Sasha comes in and tells us that dinner is ready. When we sit down, father is at the head of the table, while Voldemort sits across from him at the other head. I'm to father's right, with Rowan next to me. Mother and Tessa sit across from us, with mother on father's left and Tessa next to her. The meal goes by quickly, with father and Voldemort discussing politics, and my stomach clenching more and more as the meal goes by. The way they're talking about the muggles, muggle borns, and half bloods makes me feel sick and I am seriously tempted to leave the table, but know that doing so would mean pain later. Finally the dessert is served and I can barely swallow any of it. As the meal begins to end father looks at Tessa and me expectantly. I swallow the food in my mouth and set down my utensils.

"Tessa. Ann. You two are dismissed to go prepare for your duel."

We nod, stand from our positions and bow. Straightening, I quickly leave the room and head to dress for the duel.

"Annalisa," Tessa says, "Be prepared to dance."

I ignore her and just continue to my room. Once inside, my only thoughts are about what Voldemort had been talking about. I know I need to focus on the duel, but my mind just can't wrap around his opinions. Someone knocks on my door, and I barely manage to choke out a 'Come in'. Rowan comes downstairs and glances at me. Upon seeing how pale I am, he frowns.

"I'm sure you don't have to duel if you don't want to," Rowan says.

I shake my head, "It's not the duel that I'm worried about. It's what Voldemort was talking about and how he was talking about it."

Rowan's eyebrows come together and he says no more. I take in a deep breath and notice that I have everything already put on properly, including my dragon hide vest. Climbing the stairs my heart starts to actually calm down. Dueling is something that I can face easily. I know how to duel and I can duel well, it's just a matter of making sure that Voldemort doesn't make any rash decisions. He just seems like one of those people. Reaching the dueling room, I use a spell to see through the wood of the door and sigh with relief when I see that Tessa isn't ready with a sneak attack. Seems like we would be dueling by the rules today, probably the only good thing that would come from having Voldemort come, I open the door and walk in, head held high.

"Ah, Miss Grimwood, I was wondering if you'd decided to skip this little duel that had been set up," Voldemort purrs.

I give my best smirk, "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors don't run from a duel."

"Annalisa, take your place in the arena," father commands.

Striding to the center, where Tessa is waiting, I give a grin and she sneers. We bow and take the steps back before facing each other again.

~*~AG~*~

_Sirius,  
>How are your holidays going? Just wondering, has your family had Voldemort over for dinner? We just did and oh god! Siri, you should have heard the way he talked about the muggle borns and half bloods! It nearly made me sick! I don't know what to do. Anyway, Tessa and I had a sanctioned duel in front of Sir-Creepy-Red-Eyes and it ended up in a draw. She wasn't too happy. Anyway, I hope that the rest of break will go by quickly. Write me back soon, or I'll send a hair color jinx in the next letter!<br>Ann_

**Ann,  
>Holidays are going pretty good. Father is giving me extra lessons in magic, so it's been a bit busy. And yes, we've had the evil Duck Lord over. I think he's going to all of the old families. I nearly threw up during the dinner too. All I could think about was what would have happened to Remus, James or even Peter had been there. I suggest just spending the time to figure out some pranks for next year, that's all we can do. And please don't send any jinxes in the mail, the wards around the house went crazy the last time that happened.<br>Sirius  
>P.S. Where did Siri come from?<strong>

_Sirius,  
>You really should never tell someone what causes the wards of the house you're in to go crazy. Someone might take advantage of that, and you don't want someone to <em>_turn the house pink__, er, to enter the house unwelcome. Kidding. So what have you heard from Remus, James and Peter? Have Remus and James figured out how to connect with their magical cores yet? And why are you getting extra lessons? You're one of the best people in our year with spell work!  
>Ann<em>

**Ann,  
>Haven't heard much from the others, after all it's not that far into the break. I'm getting extra practice because he thinks that I need a little more work to smooth out the rough edges of my spell work. And come on over and charm the house pink, would make the place a little more cheerful. And you didn't answer my question, where did Siri come from?<br>Sirius**

_Sirius,  
>Hey, this is gonna be my last letter for a while. We're going to be spending some time in the ancestral manor and my parents would prefer that no letters are received. It's supposed to be a family outing. Oh joy. And I don't know where Siri came from, just popped into my head. See you on the first of September, if not sooner!<br>Ann_

_~*~AG~*~_

Walking along the garden path in the house I wipe the sweat from my forehead and give a slight grin. At least I'm working outside right now. I tend to "forget" that one really shouldn't upset my grandparents if one doesn't want to end up having to weed the gardens. They tend to forget that I prefer to be outside then inside with them.

Dumping the weeds into one of the bins my face turns to a frown as my emotions take a sudden turn to the more morose. There's no reason for me to start feeling depressed, but I can't help it. I think about what's going to happen this next school year and hold back a groan. The nerves of Rowan being sorted are already settling into my stomach right now, and it's not even close to September. Oh what torture are these nerves going to be.

_Thump! Thump! Thump!_

My face turns to a grimace as I keep punching the bag in front of me. The room is sweltering and there's nothing that can be done to avoid the heat. The windows are open to allow a breeze in, but there's no luck. The humidity and heat are beyond what's been seen around here in years, and that, plus my exercise, is helping to drench me in sweat. As my fists connect with the large black bag in front of me I feel something odd happening. It's slow, but then it explodes. It's as though I can see all the magic in the room, and I can feel the magic running through me. It's like a winter night. Cold and dark. A howl sounds in my ears. My eyes roll to the back of my head and I remember little more.

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

I sigh and glare at the open window. The heat and humidity of this summer was going to go into the record books. My mouth twitches into a smirk, the only good thing is that mother became so annoyed with the heat that she sent me to my room. She doesn't even care that I love being away from her. Picking up my charcoal, my attention turns back to the paper in front of me again. A picture of Hogwarts is slowly forming itself out of the black and white.

_Scratch, scratch, scratch._

My eyes trace the charcoal dancing along the page, but then, I'm not sure if the heat finally got to me or if I've finally hit a new level of crazy, the world seems to explode. Suddenly I can see and feel the magic that is all around me. It swirls and flies, but then I can feel the magic that is in me. It feels much like the night in the fall, crisp and dark, but that slight bit of light to the sky as though the sun had just set. A joyful barking sounds somewhere in my mind, and I only have a moment to wonder how crazy this makes me, before I hit the floor, fading from consciousness.

)o( Remus's POV )o(

Sitting on the roof of the house is the only place I can ever find quiet. Mum and Pa are always trying to make some noise. They think that I'm too quiet. Little do they know that I much prefer the quiet. The only bad thing about my hiding spot is that it is open to the sun, heat and humidity. Luckily I am able to keep my head cool by wetting my t-shirt and wrapping it on my head. Closing my eyes I focus on getting rid of all random thoughts. My focus then turns toward tuning in with the wolf. Maybe if I can actually communicate with him, the moons will not only be easier, but I won't have to worry about losing my temper. As I meditate the wind begins to blow and I give a small smile as it cools me off.

_Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh._

As the wind blows my meditation deepens. Then slowly there's something else that's there. It whispers to me, and then the magic makes itself more pronounced. The only way to describe it is like a spring morning, warm and light. There's the smell of grass and sunshine. A howling sounds in the distance and my body slumps forward onto itself.

O=O James's POV O=O

I fly through the air, the wind whipping my hair around as I enjoy the sun and, more importantly, the wind. Too much humidity and heat make me crabby. At least that's what mum tells me. Dipping down I manage to gently glide five feet above the ground, smiling as I think about getting onto the Quidditch team this year. That's where luck is on my side, over half the team is graduating, and only the seeker and keeper are staying.

_Chirp. Chirp. Chirp._

I smile at the sound of the birds chirping, feeling as free as they must when flying. Then, like anticipation before a game, I feel something building in me, but this isn't anything I really recognize at first. After a few feet of drifting, I realize that it's my magic. It flows around me, warm like a summer day. I drift closer to the ground as something like hooves sound in my ears, and I land right as I start to lose consciousness.


	20. Complications Begin

~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

I run to the train laughing as Rowan catches up, mock glaring at me. His hair's gotten a bit longer and he looks more like me than normal. His blue gray eyes dart toward mother and father quickly before refocusing on me.

"How did you learn to get away from them?" Rowan asks.

"Months of nights spent avoiding Filch," I shrug, "Of course, you won't have that problem will you?"

Rowan shakes his head, "Of course not!"

I chuckle and lead Rowan to the compartment that the other boys are in. Rowan and Regulus, who is sitting in the corner of the compartment, immediately begin to chat and think about what they would do in Hogwarts. I sit next to Sirius. The moment my arm knocks against him, a strange smell meets my nose.

I turn to Sirius, "Is that cologne?"

"No…" he raises his eyebrows.

I give a subtle sniff and my eyes narrow as I realize what it is, "Sirius, why do I smell dark magic on you?"

"Maybe because I come from a dark house?" Sirius suggests, his eyes not fully meeting me.

"But you've never smelled so strongly of it before," I mutter.

"Just drop it, would you?"

"For now."

James enters, hair looking bird nest like as ever, "Did you all see Evans? I think her hair grew about a foot over break."

"That's physically impossible," I deadpan, "Unless she used a hair growth potion, but I doubt that she would.'

"Fine," James huffs, looking pouty.

Sirius gives a grin, "Someone has a crush doesn't he?"

"What? No, I just noticed and it seemed odd to me," James says defensively.

"Uh-huh," Sirius rolls his eyes, "Of course."

The door slides open again and Remus and Peter walk in. I slide closer to Rowan and Sirius moves to Regulus.

"It's getting kind of tight in here," Rowan points out.

"Having seven people in one compartment will do that."

All too soon the ride to Hogwarts turns to a mini party. With James pulling out Exploding snap cards, Peter giving everyone candy, Sirius firing off jokes when it became too quiet and Remus transfiguring a couple of quills into some pillows so that the place was much more comfortable, we all were soon just laughing and avoiding the mini explosions while snacking on chocolate frogs.

When James's hair is turned bright blue that sparkles everyone laughs. Smirking I put my wand back into its holster.

Sirius pauses in his joke to laugh, "And round one goes to Ann! Anyway, so the Scotsman puts on the heaviest pair of boots he can find. Taking a few steps back he runs to the Englishman and kicks him as hard as he could in the testicles. The Englishman falls to the ground, holding his groin and howling in agony for thirty minutes. Finally the Englishman stands up and says, "It's my turn to kick you!" The Scotsman smiles and says, "You can keep the damn egg.'"

We burst out laughing, but Remus soon is shaking his head and hits Sirius on the back of the head.

"Could you watch your vulgarity? There are two first years and a lady in the compartment," Remus scolds, though it's not as effective as usual because he keeps pulling back a grin.

"Hey, this isn't anything Regulus hasn't heard before!"

I cut in, "And Rowan isn't some little angel either. Plus, I'm no lady. I might be a female, but I'm no lady. Too unrefined for that."

"Really?"

I stare at Remus with a raised eyebrow until he shakes his head. It takes a moment, but then I realize that James and Sirius are gone. My eyes narrow and I turn to my brother and Regulus.

"Did either of you see where Sirius and James went?"

"No," they chorus.

I frown, "Why do I have a bad-"

An explosion comes from in the corridor and I jump up, throwing open the door. The walls floor and ceiling of the corridor have been turned into ice with red, green, yellow and blue spots. Standing in the center, laughing their heads off, are idiot one and idiot two. The prefect near them starts to yell, and I just reenter the compartment, smile on my face and shake my head.

"If those two don't watch it they'll have detentions before school even starts." Remus frowns slightly, but grins, "But that was a really good charm."

I laugh, "Of course you would say that. You're the one who figured out what quite a few of those spells were for and how to use them effectively."

"Well…I would be modest, but yeah." Remus grins then sits back down in the compartment.

I nod and flop into the seat across from him, "Oh you're the picture of modesty Remus."

Remus laughs, "So what do you think about this year? Are those two going to cause me to hex them again?"

"Of course," Peter pipes up, "Come on Remus, you have a brilliant amount of patience, but they tend to tread on it a lot."

"That may be," he says, "But they're my friends, I don't want to do that again."

"Eh, you'll be fine. They're the ones who'll have to watch it or else their grades will turn to rubbish." Peter turns back to the parchment that he was reading. Apparently it was a letter from his aunt who he hasn't seen in years.

I turn to Remus and shrug before jinxing my brother's hair into a bright pink Mohawk.

~*~AG~*~

I watch the first years as they enter the Great Hall and I can feel my nerves growing. Across the table, Sirius looks just as nervous and James is trying to calm him down. As they reach the front I keep flashing back to our sorting two years previously. Giving my head a good shake, I notice that I've missed the hat's song and the first couple of firsties being sorted. Sirius's brother is called up and sits under the hat for a while. After about four minutes the hat yells out Slytherin and the younger Black hurries over to the green and silver table, throwing his brother glances. Sirius smiles at Regulus, all the while his eyes look worried. A small troop of first years is sorted before Rowan sits on the stool. It takes him about the same amount of time that it took for Regulus's sorting and the hat makes the same decision. As I nod at him, I can feel my heart drop and the worry set in. I only hope that he's learned enough Slytherin tendencies to make it through the pit of the snakes.

~+~ Sirius's POV ~+~

_"Slytherin!"_

Hard to believe that one word would cause me so much worry and so much pain. Hard to believe that I would come to regard that one word with as many conflicted emotions as I do. I stare at the ceiling of the great hall and think of all the times that I've escaped to just lay down here. Granted, I would prefer to just sit on the astronomy tower, but that usually has a class occupying it. I've always found peace in the stars. I don't know why. I watch as the stars twinkle down brightly and then as a meteor flies across the sky. In that moment, I realize that my life will never be the same.

~*~ Ann's POV ~*~

I sit in the abandoned charms room thinking back to what happened over the summer. Ever since that incident, I've felt my magic flowing around me more than ever. Catching a hint, I try the animagus transformation. I nearly get it and turn back to human, slightly disappointed. Sighing I look out the window and watch the clouds as they float across the southern night sky. Sighing again I wonder if life is ever going to be simpler, or if this is just the beginning of some complex mess.

~*+)o(+*~

_Whatever happens from now, I shall not care. So long as I have my friends I know that this life will never be the same.  
><em>  
><strong>And it is because of these friends that I have found myself. I do not care what happens to myself, but these people I will protect.<br>**_**  
>For to have such friends gather round me, even with all the danger involved, is a gift I will never forget. I am tied to them and they to me.<strong>_

_But I will not complain of this fact. This is because my friendship makes me stronger rather than pulling me down. For them, I'll do the same.  
><em>**  
><strong>So no matter what it is decided that we shall stick together. And no matter the problem, no matter the cost, our loyalty shall not waver, we'll stand by one another.

_Mischief Managed_

**The little script at the end is between the Marauders and Ann. The order of writing goes Ann, Sirius, Remus, James and Peter. This is the end of Crystalline Glass, I hope you've enjoyed reading it. The sequal, Breaking Glass, is already being published as I write and edit it. I would appreciate a review telling me what you thought of CG. Thank you to those who have read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted.**


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